ta 


J.    JS 


WOBKS  BY  MRS.  SOMERVILLE. 


THE  MECHANISM  OF  THE  HEAVENS.     8vo.     1831. 

THE  CONNECTION    OF  THE  PHYSICAL  SCIENCES. 
9th  Edition.     Post  8vo.     1858. 

PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY.     6^  Edition.     Post  8vo. 
1870. 

MOLECULAR  AND  MICROSCOPIC  SCIENCE.     2  vola. 
Post  8vo.    1869. 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS, 

Jrom  ®arlj  life  to  ©to 


OF 


MARY  SOMERVILLE. 

WITH  SELECTIONS  FROM  HER  CORRESPONDENCE. 

BY   HER   DAUGHTER, 
MARTHA   SOMERVILLE. 


BOSTON: 
ROBERTS     BROTHERS. 

1874. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTEE  I. 

PAGB 
INTRODUCTION*  —  PARENTAGE  —  LIFE     IN     SCOTLAND    IN    THE     LAST 

CENTURY— EARLY  EDUCATION — SCHOOL 1 

CHAPTER  II. 

FREEDOM— RELIGIOUS   EDUCATION — JEDBURGH  .  .  .      .         24 

CHAPTER  III. 

EDINBURGH— YOUTHFUL    STUDIES    AND    AMUSEMENTS— POLITICS — 

THE   THEATRES   OF   THE   TIME  . 41 

CHAPTER  IV. 

EDINBURGH  SUPPER  PARTIES — TOUR  IN  THE  HIGHLANDS — MUTINY 

IN    THE    FLEET— BATTLE   OF    CAMPERDOWN 61 

CHAPTER  V. 

FIRST      MARRIAGE     (1804) — WIDOWHOOD— STUDIES— SECOND     MAR- 


73 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SOMERVILLE  FAMILY— DR.  SOMERVILLE's  CHARACTER —LETTERS — 
JOURNEY  TO  THE  LAKES  — DEATH  OF  SIR  WILLIAM  FAIRFAX — 
REMINISCENCES  OF  SIR  WALTER  SCOTT  83 


iv  Contents. 


CHAPTEE  VII. 

PAGH 
LIFE  IN    HANOVER   SQUARE — VISIT   TO  FRANCE— ARAGO— CUVIER — 

ROME .       .       104 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

EDUCATION     OF     DAUGHTERS — DR.     WOLLASTON — DR.     YOUNG— THE 

HERSCHELS 127 

CHAPTER  IX. 

SOCIETY     IN     LONDON— CORONATION     OF    GEORGE     IV.  — LETTER    TO 

DR.  SOMERVILLE 140 

CHAPTER  X. 

DEATH  OF  MARGARET  SDMERVILLE— LETTER  FROM  MRS.  SOMER- 
VILLE TO  THE  REV.  DR.  SOMERVILLE — LIFE  AT  CHELSEA — 
THE  NAPIERS — MARIA  EDGEWORTH — TOUR  IN  GERMANY  .  152 

CHAPTER  XI. 

LETTER  FROM  LORD  BROUGHAM — WRITES  "  MECHANISM  OF  THE 
HEAVENS" — ANECDOTE  OF  THE  ROMAN  IMPROVISATRICE — 
LETTERS  FROM  SIR  JOHN  HERSCHEL  AND  PROFESSOR  WHEWELL 
— ELECTED  HON.  MEMBER  OF  THE  ROYAL  ASTRONOMICAL 

SOCIETY — NOTICE  IN  THE  ACADEMIE  DBS  SCIENCES,  AND 
LETTER  FROM  M.  BIOT — PENSION— LETTER  FROM  SIR  ROBERT 
PEEL  —  BEGINS  TO  WRITE  ON  THE  CONNECTION  OF  THE 
PHYSICAL  SCIENCES  — VISIT  TO  CAMBRIDGE  —  LETTERS  FROM 
PROFESSOR  SEDGWICK  AND  LAPLACE  .  .  .  .  161 

CHAPTER  XII. 

PARIS— ARAGO,  LAFAYETTE,  MM.  BOUVARD,  POTSSON,  LACKOIX, 
&C.,  MARQUISE  DE  LAPLACE,  DUPIN,  F.  COOPER — LEGITIMISTE 
SOCIETY  —  MA JENDIE— VISIT  BARON  LOUIS  —  LETTER  FROM 
LAFAYETTE  .  183 


Contents 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

PAGK 

RETURN  TO  ENGLAND — LETTER  FROM  HALLAM — TREATISE  ON  THE 
FORM  AND  ROTATION  OF  THE  EARTH  AND  PLANETS — SECOND 
EDITION  OF  "THE  CONNEXION  OF  THE  PHYSICAL  SCIENCES" 
— LETTERS  FROM  MARIA  EDGEWORTH,  MISS  BERRY,  LORD 
BROUGHAM,  MRS.  MARCET,  ADMIRAL  SMYTH — DOUBLE  STARS 
— ECLIPSE  OF  DOUBLE  STARS— LETTER  FROM  ADMIRAL  SMYTH 

—  SIR  WILLIAM  HERSCHEL— NEBULA  —  LETTER  FROM  LORD 
ROSSE — LETTER    FROM    SIR  JOHN    HEKSCHEL  —  SIR    JAMES 
SOUTIl's    OBSERVATORY-— MR.  JOHN   MURRAY— MISS  BERRY — 
LORD  DUDLEY— MR.  BOWDITCH  AND   OTHER  DISTINGUISHED 
AMERICANS — MRS.    BROWNING   WASHINGTON  —  LETTER  FROM 
THE  REV.  DR.  TUCKERMAN— SIR  WILLIAM  FAIRFAX  ATTACKED 

BY  HIGHWAYMBN 198 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

ROME,  NAPLES,  AND  COMO  — BADEN  —  WINTER  AT  FLORENCE- 
SIENA — LETTER  FROM  LORD  BROUGHAM— MR  MOUNTSTEWART 
ELPHINSTONE— LIFE  AT  ROME — CAMPAGNA  CATTLE  .  .  230 

CHAPTEK  XV. 

ALBANO— POPULAR  SINGING — LETTERS  FROM  MRS.  SOMERVJLLE — 
GIBSON  —  PERUGIA  —  COMET  OF  1843  — SUMMER  AT  VENICE — 
LETTERS  FROM  MRS.  SOMERVILLE  AND  MISS  JOANNA  BAILL1E 
— ELECTED  ASSOCIATE  OF  THE  COLLEGE  OF  RE.SURGENT1  AND 
R.  1.  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCE  AT  AREZZO 243 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

PUBLISHES  "PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY" — LETTER  FROM  HUMBOLDT — 
CHRISTMAS  AT  COLLINGWOOD — LETTER  FROM  MRS.  SOMERVILLE 

—  FARADAY  —  LETTER    FROM    FARADAY  —  KEITH    JOHNSTON'S 
MAPS— WINTER  AT  MUNICH— SALZBURG — LAKE  OF  GARDA — 
MINTSCALCHI — POEM  BY  CATERINA  BUENZONI— LETTER  FROM 
BRENZONI  —  LETTER    FROM    MRS.    SOMERVILLE  —  ELOGE    BY 
MINISCALCHI— WINTER  AT  TURIN— BARON   PLANA — CAMILLO 
CAVOUR — COLLINE  NEAR  TURIN— GENOA  —  TERESA  DOVIA  — 
FLORENCE — MISS  F.  P.  COKBE — VIVISECTION  —  EXCURSIONS  IK 


vi  Contents. 


PAGE 

THE  NEIGHBOURHOOD  —  CHOLERA  — MISERICORDIA — PIO  NONO 
IN  TUSCANY  —COMET  —  TUSCAN  REVOLUTION — WAR  IN  LOM- 
BARDY  —  ENTRY  OF  VICTOR  EMMANUEL  INTO  FLORENCE  — 
LETTERS  FROM  MRS.  SOMERVILLE  —  MY  FATHER'S  DEATH — 
LETTER  FROM  MISS  COBBE  .  .  286 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

SPEZIA — GENOA — BEGINS  MOLECULAR  ANT)  MICROSCOPIC  SCIENCE — 
TURIN — SPEZIA — BRITISH  FLEET — LETTERS  FROM  MRS.  SOMER- 
VTLLE  —  GARIBALDI  —  SEVERE  ILLNESS  —  FLORENCE  —  MY 

BROTHER'S  DEATH — NAPLES — ERUPTION  OF  VESUVIUS — J.  s. 

MILL — CHANGE  IN  PUBLIC  OPINION  ON  WOMEN'S  EDUCATION- 
EIGHTY -NINTH  YEAR — DESCRIBES  HER  OWN  CHARACTER  — 
THOUGHTS  ON  A  FUTURE  LIFE — PROGRESS  IN  KNOWLEDGE  OF 
GEOGRAPHY — VICTORIA  MEDAL— MEDAL  FROM  ROYAL  ITALIAN 
GEOGRAPHICAL  SOCIETY  —  LETTER  FROM  MENEBREA — ROME, 
CAPITAL  OF  ITALY — AURORA  BOREALIS  .  329 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

ECLIPSE — VISITS  OF  SCIENTIFIC  MEN— LIFE  AT  NAPLES — DARWIN'S 
BOOKS— REMARKS  ON  CIVILIZATION — FINE  AURORA  BOREALIS 
— DEATH  OF  HERSCHEL- SUMMER  AT  SORRENTO— BILL  FOR 
PROTECTION  OF  ANIMALS  —  NINETY-SECOND  YEAR  —  LETTER 
FROM  PROFESSOR  SEDGWICK — GRAND  ERUPTION  OF  VESUVIUS 
— LAST  SUMMER  AT  SORRENTO,  PLANTS  FOUND  THERE— CON- 
CLUSION .  ,  354 


PEESONAL   EECOLLECTIONS 


MAEY   SOMERVILLE 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTION — PARENTAGE — LIFE   IN   SCOTLAND   IN    THE  LAST  CENTURY 
— KARLY   EDUCATION— SCHOOL. 

THE  life  of  a  woman  entirely  devoted  to  her  family 
duties  and  to  scientific  pursuits  affords  little  scope  for  a 
biography.  There  are  in  it  neither  stirring  events  nor 
brilliant  deeds  to  record ;  and  as  my  Mother  was  strongly 
averse  to  gossip,  and  to  revelations  of  private  life  or  of 
intimate  correspondence,  nothing  of  the  kind  will  be  found 
in  the  following  pages.  It  has  been  only  after  very  great 
hesitation,  and  on  the  recommendation  of  valued  friends, 
who  think  that  some  account  of  so  remarkable  and 
beautiful  a  character  cannot  fail  to  interest  the  public, 
that  I  have  resolved  to  publish  some  detached  Recollec- 
tions of  past  times,  noted  down  by  my  mother  during  the 
last  years  of  her  life,  together  with  a  few  letters  from 
eminent  men  and  women,  referring  almost  exclusively  to 
her  scientific  works.  A  still  smaller  number  of  her  own 
letters  have  been  added,  either  as  illustrating  her 


2  Mary  Somcrville. 

opinions  on  events  she  witnessed,  or  else  as  affording 
some  slight  idea  of  her  simple  and  loving  disposition. 

Few  thoughtful  minds  will  read  without  emotion  my 
mother's  own  account  of  the  wonderful  energy  and  in- 
domitable perseverance  by  which,  in  her  ardent  thirst  for 
knowledge,  she  overcame  obstacles  apparently  insur- 
mountable, at  a  time  when  women  were  well-nigh  totally 
debarred  from  education  ;  and  the  almost  intuitive  way  in 
which  she  entered  upon  studies  of  which  she  had  scarcely 
heard  the  names,  living,  as  she  did,  among  persons  to 
whom  they  were  utterly  unknown,  and  who  disapproved 
of  her  devotion  to  pursuits  so  different  from  those  of 
ordinary  young  girls  at  the  end  of  the  last  century, 
especially  in  Scotland,  which  was  far  more  old-fashioned 
and  primitive  than  England. 

Nor  is  her  simple  account  of  her  early  days  without 
interest,  when,  as  a  lonely  child,  she  wandered  by  the 
seashore,  and  on  the  links  of  Burntisland,  collecting 
shells  and  flowers  ;  or  spent  the  clear,  cold  nights  at  her 
window,  watching  the  starlit  heavens,  whose  mj-steries 
she  was  destined  one  day  to  penetrate  in  all  their  pro- 
found and  sublime  laws,  making  clear  to  others  that 
knowledge  which  she  herself  had  acquired,  at  the  cost  of 
so  hard  a  struggle. 

It  was  not  only  in  her  childhood  and  youth  that  my 
mother's  studies  encountered  disapproval.  Not  till  she 
became  a  widow,  had  she  perfect  freedom  to  pursue  them. 
The  first  person — indeed  the  only  one  in  her  early  days — 
who  encouraged  her  passion  for  learning  was  her  uncle 
by  marriage,  afterwards  her  father-in-law,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Somerville,  minister  of  Jedburgh,  a  man  very  much  in 
advance  of  his  century  in  liberality  of  thought  on  all 
subjects.  He  was  one  of  the  first  to  discern  her  rare 


Introduction.  3 

qualities,  and  valued  her  as  she  deserved ;  while  through 
life  she  retained  the  most  grateful  affection  for  him,  and 
confided  to  him  many  doubts  and  difficulties  on  subjects 
of  the  highest  importance.  Nothing  can  be  more 
erroneous  than  the  statement,  repeated  in  several 
obituary  notices  of  my  mother,  that  Mr.  Greig  (her  first 
husband)  aided  her  in  her  mathematical  and  other  pur- 
suits. Nearly  the  contrary  was  the  case.  Mr.  Greig 
took  no  interest  in  science  or  literature,  and  possessed 
in  full  the  prejudice  against  learned  women  which  was 
common  at  that  time.  Only  on  her  marriage  with 
my  father,  my  mother  at  last  met  with  one  who 
entirely  sympathised  with  her,  and  warmly  entered  into 
all  her  ideas,  encouraging  her  zeal  for  study  to  the 
utnost,  and  affording  her  every  facility  for  it  in  his 
power.  His  love  and  admiration  for  her  were  unbounded; 
he  frankly  and  willingly  acknowledged  her  superiority  to 
himself,  and  many  of  our  friends  can  bear  witness  to  the 
honest  pride  and  gratification  which  he  always  testified 
in  the  fame  and  honours  she  attained. 

No  one  can  escape  sorrow,  and  my  mother,  in  the 
course  of  her  long  life,  had  her  full  share,  but  she  bore 
it  with  that  deep  feeling  of  trust  in  the  great  goodness 
of  God  which  formed  so  marked  a  feature  in  her  cha- 
racter. She  had  a  buoyant  and  hopeful  spirit,  and  though 
her  affections  were  very  strong,  and  she  felt  keenly, 
it  was  ever  her  nature  to  turn  from  the  shadows  to  ail 
that  is  bright  and  beautiful  in  mortal  life.  She  had  much 
to  make  life  pleasant  in  the  great  honours  universally 
bestowed  upon  her ;  but  she  found  far  more  in  the  de- 
voted affection  of  friends,  to  say  nothing  of  those  whose 
happy  lot  it  has  been  to  live  in  close  and  loving  inter- 
course with  so  noble  and  gentle  a  spirit. 

B  2 


4  Mary  Somerville. 

She  met  with  unbounded  kindness  from  men  of  science 
of  all  countries,  and  most  profound  was  her  gratitude  to 
them.  Modest  and  unpretending  to  excess,  nothing 
could  be  more  generous  than  the  unfeigned  delight  she 
shewed  in  recognising  the  genius  and  discoveries  of  others; 
ever  jealous  of  their  fame,  and  never  of  her  own. 

It  is  not  uncommon  to  see  persons  who  hold  in  youth 
opinions  in  advance  of  the  age  in  which  they  live,  but  who 
at  a  certain  period  seem  to  crystallise,  and  lose  the  faculty 
of  comprehending  and  accepting  new  ideas  and  theories  ; 
thus  remaining  at  last  as  far  behind,  as  they  were  once 
in  advance  of  public  opinion.  Not  so  my  mother,  who 
was  ever  ready  to  hail  joyfully  any  new  idea  or  theory, 
and  to  give  it  honest  attention,  even  if  it  were  at  variance 
with  her  former  convictions.  This  quality  she  never  lost, 
and  it  enabled  her  to  sympathise  with  the  younger  gene- 
ration of  philosophers,  as  she  had  done  with  their  pre- 
decessors, her  own  contemporaries. 

Although  her  favourite  pursuit,  and  the  one  for  which 
she  had  decidedly  most  aptitude,  was  mathematics  ;  yet 
there  were  few  subjects  in  which  she  did  not  take  in- 
terest, whether  in  science  or  literature,  philosophy  or 
politics.  She  was  passionately  fond  of  poetry,  her  es- 
pecial favourites  being  Shakespeare  and  Dante,  and 
also  the  great  Greek  dramatists,  whose  tragedies  she 
read  fluently  in  the  original,  being  a  good  classical 
scholar.  She  wn.3  very  fond  of  music,  and  devoted  much 
time  to  it  in  her  youth,  and  she  painted  from  nature  with 
considerable  taste.  The  latter  was,  perhaps,  the  recrea- 
tion in  which  she  most  delighted,  from  the  opportunity 
it  afforded  her  of  contemplating  the  wonderful  beauty 
of  the  world,  which  was  a  never-failing  source  of  in- 
tense enjoyment  to  her,  whether  she  watched  the 


Introduction.  5 

changing  effects  of  light  and  shade  on  her  favourite 
Roman  Campagna,  or  gazed,  enchanted,  on  the  gorgeous 
sunsets  on  the  bay  of  Naples,  as  she  witnessed  them  from 
her  much-loved  Sorrento,  where  she  passed  the  last 
summers  of  her  life.  All  things  fair  were  a  joy  to  her — 
the  flowers  we  brought  her  from  our  rambles,  the  sea- 
weeds, the  wild  birds  she  saw,  all  interested  and  pleased 
her.  Everything  in  nature  spoke  to  her  of  that  great 
God  who  created  all  things,  the  grand  and  sublimely 
beautiful  as  well  as  the  exquisite  loveliness  of  minute 
objects.  Above  all,  in  the  laws  which  science  unveils 
step  by  step,  she  found  ever  renewed  motives  for  the  lo\e 
and  adoration  of  their  Author  and  Sustainer.  This  fer- 
vour of  religious  feeling  accompanied  her  through  life, 
and  very  early  she  shook  off  all  that  was  dark  and  narrow 
in  the  creed  of  her  first  instructors  for  a  purer  and 
a  happier  faith. 

It  would  be  almost  incredible  were  I  to  describe  how 
much  my  mother  contrived  to  do  in  the  course  of  the  day. 
When  my  sister  and  I  were  small  children,  although 
busily  engaged  in  writing  for  the  press,  she  used  to  teach 
us  for  three  hours  every  morning,  besides  managing 
her  house  carefully,  reading  the  newspapers  (for  she 
always  was  a  keen,  and,  I  must  add,  a  liberal  politician), 
and  the  most  important  new  books  on  all  subjects,  grave 
and  gay.  In  addition  to  all  this,  she  freely  visited  and  re- 
ceived her  friends.  She  was,  indeed,  very  fond  of  society, 
and  did  not  look  for  transcendent  talent  in  those  with  whom 
she  associated,  although  no  one  appreciated  it  more  when 
she  found  it.  Gay  and  cheerful  company  was  a  pleasant 
relaxation  after  a  hard  day's  work.  My  mother  never 
introduced  scientific  or  learned  subjects  into  general 
conversation.  AVhen  they  were  brought  forward  by 


6  Mary  Somerville. 

others,  she  talked  simply  and  naturally  about  them, 
without  the  slightest  pretension  to  superior  knowledge. 
Finally,  to  complete  the  list  of  her  accomplishments, 
I  must  add  that  she  was  a  remarkably  neat  and  skilful 
needlewoman.  We  still  possess  some  elaborate  specimens 
of  her  embroidery  and  lace-work. 

Devoted  and  loving  in  all  the  relations  of  life,  my 
mother  was  ever  forgetful  of  self.  Indulgent  and  sym- 
pathising, she  never  judged  others  with  harshness  or 
severity ;  yet  she  could  be  ve^  angry  when  her  in- 
dignation was  aroused  by  hearing  of  injustice  or  oppres- 
sion, of  cruelty  to  man  or  beast,  or  of  any  attack  on 
those  she  loved.  Rather  timid  and  retiring  in  general 
society,  she  was  otherwise  fearless  in  her  quiet  way.  I 
well  remember  her  cool  composure  on  some  occasions 
when  we  were  in  great  danger.  This  she  inherited  from 
her  father,  Admiral  Sir  William  Fairfax,  a  gallant  gentle- 
man who  distinguished  himself  greatly  at  the  battle  of 
Camperdown.* 

My  mother  speaks  of  him  as  follows  among  her 
"  Recollections,"  of  which  I  now  proceed  to  place  some 
portions  before  the  reader. 


*  Sir  William  Fairfax  was  the  son  of  Joseph  Fairfax,  Esq.,  of  Bag- 
shot,  in  the  county  of  Surrey,  who  died  in  1783,  aged  77,  having  served 
in  the  army  previous  to  1745.  It  is  understood  that  his  family  was  de- 
scended from  the  Fairfaxes  of  AValton,  in  Yorkshire,  the  main  branch 
of  which  were  created  Viscounts  Fairfax  of  Emly,  in  the  peerage  of 
Ireland  (now  extinct),  and  a  younger  branch  Barons  Fairfax  of 
Cameron,  in  the  peerage  of  Scotland.  Of  the  last-named  was  the  great 
Lord  Fairfax,  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  armies  of  the  Parliament, 
1645— 50,  whose  title  is  now  held  by  the  eleventh  Lord  Fairfax,  a  resi- 
dent in  the  United  States  of  America. 


Admiral  Fairfax. 


MY  father  was  very  good  looking,  of  a  brave  and 
noble  nature,  and  a  perfect  gentleman  both  in  ap- 
pearance and  character.  He  was  sent  to  sea  as 
midshipman  at  ten  years  of  age,  so  he  had  very 
little  education ;  but  he  read  a  great  deal,  chiefly 
history  and  voyages.  He  was  very  cool,  and  of 
instant  resource  in  moments  of  danger. 

One  night,  when  his  little  vessel  had  taken 
refuge  with  many  others  from  an  intensely  violent 
gale  and  drifting  snow  in  Yarmouth  Roads,  they 
saw  lights  disappear,  as  vessel  after  vessel  foundered. 
My  father,  after  having  done  all  that  was  possible 
for  the  safety  of  the  ship,  went  to  bed.  His  cabin 
door  did  not  shut  closely,  from  the  rolling  of  the 
ship,  and  the  man  who  was  sentry  that  night  told 
my  mother  p  years  afterwards,  that  when  he  saw 
my  father  on  his  knees  praying,  he  thought  it 
would  soon  be  all  over  with  them  ;  then  seeing 
him  go  to  bed  and  fall  asleep,  he  felt  no  more 
fear.  In  the  morning  the  coast  was  strewed  with 
wrecks.  There  were  no  life-boats  in  those  days  ; 
now  the  lives  of  hundreds  are  annually  saved  by 
the  noble  self-devotion  of  British  sailors. 

My  mother  was  the  daughter  of  Samuel  Charters, 
Solicitor  of  the  Customs  for  Scotland,  and  his  wife 


8  Mary  Somerville. 

Christian  Murray,  of  Kynynmont,  whose  eldest  sister 
married  the  great  grandfather  of  the  present  Earl 
of  Minto.  My  grandmother  was  exceedingly  proud 
and  stately.  She  made  her  children  stand  in  her  pre- 
sence. My  mother,  on  the  contrary,  was  indulgent 
and  kind,  so  that  her  children  were  perfectly  at 
ease  with  her.  She  seldom  read  anything  but  the 
Bible,  sermons,  and  the  newspaper.  She  was  very 
sincere  and  devout  in  her  religion,  and  was  re- 
markable for  good  sense  and  great  strength  of  ex- 
pression in  writing  and  conversation.  Though  by 
no  means  pretty,  she  was  exceedingly  distinguished 
and  ladylike  both  in  appearance  and  manners. 
.  My  father  was  constantly  employed,  and  twice 
distinguished  himself  by  attacking  vessels  of  superior 
force.  He  captured  the  first,  but  was  overpowered 
by  the  second,  and  being  taken  to  France,  re- 
mained two  years  a  prisoner  on  parole,  when  he 
met  with  much  kindness  from  the  Choiseul  family. 
At  last  he  was  exchanged,  and  afterwards  was 
appointed  lieutenant  on  board  a  frigate  destined 
for  foreign  service.  I  think  it  was  the  North 
American  station,  for  the  war  of  Independence  was 
not  over  till  the  beginning  of  1 783.  As  my  mother 
knew  that  my  father  would  be  absent  for  some  years, 
she  accompanied  him  to  London,  though  so  near  her 
confinement  that  in  returning  home  she  had  just 


Birth.  9 

time  to  arrive  at  the  manse  of  Jedburgh,  her  sister 
Martha  Somerville's  *  house,  when  I  was  born,  on  the 
26th  December,  1780.  My  mother  was  dangerously 
ill,  and  my  aunt,  who  was  about  to  wean  her  second 
daughter  Janet,  who  married  General  Henry  Elliot, 
nursed  me  till  a  wetnurse  could  be  found.  So  I 
was  born  in  the  house  of  my  future  husband,  and 
nursed  by  his  mother — a  rather  singular  coinci- 
dence. 

During  my  father's  absence,  my  mother  lived 
with  great  economy  in  a  house  not  far  from 
Burntisland  which  belonged  to  my  grandfather, 
solely  occupied  with  the  care  of  her  family,  which 
consisted  of  her  eldest  son  Samuel,  four  or  five  years 
old,  and  myself.  One  evening  while  my  brother  was 
lying  at  play  on  the  floor,  he  called  out,  "  0,  mam- 
ma, there's  the  moon  rinnin'  awa."  It  was  the 
celebrated  meteor  of  1 783. 

Some  time  afterwards,  for  what  reason  I  do  not 
know,  my  father  and  mother  went  to  live  for  a 
short  time  at  Inveresk,  and  thence  returned  to 

Burntisland,  our  permanent  home. 

#  *  *  *  * 

[This  place,  in  which  my  mother's  early  life  was  spent, 
exercised  so  much  influence  on  her  life  and  pursuits, 

*  Wife  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  Somerville,  minister  of  Jedburgh, 
already  mentioned  (p.  2).  Dr.  Somerville  was  author  of  Histories  of 
Queen  Anne  and  of  William  and  Mary,  and  also  of  an  autobiography. 


10  Mary  Somerville. 

that  I  am  happy  to  be  able  to  give  the  description  of  it 
in  her  own  words. 


Burntisland  was  then  a  small  quiet  seaport  town 
with  little  or  no  commerce,  situated  on  the  coast  of 
Fife,  immediately  opposite  to  Edinburgh.  It  is 
sheltered  at  some  distance  on  the  north  by  a  high 
ani  steep  hill  called  the  Bin.  The  harbour  lies  on 
the  west,  and  the  town  ended  on  the  east  in  a  plain 
of  short  grass  called  the  Links,  on  which  the  towns- 
people had  the  right  of  pasturing  their  cows  and 
geese.  The  Links  were  bounded  on  each  side  by 
low  hills  covered  with  gorse  and  heather,  and  on 
the  east  by  a  beautiful  bay  with  a  sandy  beach, 
which,  beginning  at  a  low  rocky  point,  formed  a 
bow  and  then  stretched  for  several  miles  to  the  town 
of  Kinghorn,  the  distant  part  skirting  a  range  of  high 
precipitous  crags. 

Our  house,  which  lay  to  the  south  of  the  town, 
was  very  long,  with  a  southern  exposure,  and  its 
length  was  increased  by  a  wall  covered  with  fruit- 
trees,  which  concealed  a  courtyard,  cow-house,  and 
other  offices.  From  this  the  garden  extended  south- 
wards, and  ended  in  a  plot  of  short  grass  covering  a 
ledge  of  low  black  rocks  washed  by  the  sea.  It  was 
divided  into  three  parts  by  narrow,  almost  unfre- 
quented, lanes.  These  gardens  yielded  abundance 


Burntisland.  11 

of  common  fruit  and  vegetables,  but  the  warmest 
and  best  exposures  were  always  devoted  to  flowers. 
The  garden  next  -to  the  house  was  bounded  on  the 
south  by  an  ivy-covered  wall  hid  by  a  row  of  old 
elm  trees,  from  whence  a  steep  mossy  bank  descended 
to  a  flat  plot  of  grass  with  a  gravel  walk  and  flower 
borders  on  each  side,  and  a  broad  gravel  walk  ran 
along  the  front  of  the  house.  My  mother  was  fond 
of  flowers,  and  prided  herself  on  her  moss-roses, 
which  flourished  luxuriantly  on  the  front  of  the 
house  ;  but  my  father,  though  a  sailor,  was  an  excel- 
lent florist.  He  procured  the  finest  bulbs  and  flower 
seeds  from  Holland,  and  kept  each  kind  in  a 
separate  bed. 

The  manners  and  customs  of  the  people  who 
inhabited  this  pretty  spot  at  that  time  were  ex- 
ceedingly primitive. 

Upon  the  death  of  any  of  the  townspeople,  a 
man  went  about  ringing  a  bell  at  the  doors  of  the 
friends  and  acquaintances  of  the  person  just  dead,  and, 
after  calling  out  "  Oyez  I"  three  times,  he  announced 
the  death  which  had  occurred.  This  was  still  called 
by  the  name  of  the  Passing-bell,  which  in  Catholic 
times  invited  the  prayers  of  the  living,  for  the 
spirit  just  passed  away. 

There  was  ,inuch  sympathy  and  kindness  shown 
on  these  occasions  ;  friends  always  paid  a  visit  of 


12  Mary  Somerville. 

condolence  to  the  afflicted,  dressed  in  black.  The 
gude  wives  in  Burntisland  thought  it  respectable  to 
provide  dead-clothes  for  themselves  and  the  "  gude 
man,"  that  they  might  have  a  decent  funeral.  I  once 
saw  a  set  of  grave-clothes  nicely  folded  up,  which 
consisted  of  a  long  shirt  and  cap  of  white  flannel, 
and  a  shroud  of  fine  linen  made  of  yarn,  spun  by 
the  gude  wife  herself.  I  did  not  like  that  gude  wife  ; 
she  was  purse-proud,  and  took  every  opportunity  of 
treating  with  scorn  a  poor  neighbour  who  had  had  a 
misfortune,  that  is,  a  child  by  her  husband  before 
marriage,  but  who  made  a  very  good  wife.  Her 
husband  worked  in  our  garden,  and  took  our  cow  to 
the  Links  to  graze.  The  wife  kept  a  little  shop, 
where  we  bought  things,  and  she  told  us  her  neigh- 
bour had  given  her  "  mony  a  sair  greet" — that  is,  a 
bitter  fit  of  weeping. 

The  howdie,  or  midwife,  was  a  person  of  much 
consequence.  She  had  often  to  go  far  into  the 
country,  by  day  and  by  night,  riding  a  cart-horse. 
The  neighbours  used  to  go  and  congratulate  the 
mother,  and,  of  course,  to  admire  the  baby.  Cake 
and  caudle  were  handed  round,  caudle  being  oat- 
meal gruel,  with  sugar,  nutmeg,  and  white  wine.  In 
the  poorest  class,  hot  ale  and  "  scons  "  were  offered. 

Penny-weddings  were  by  no  means  uncommon  in 
my  young  days.  When  a  very  poor  couple  were 


Burntisland.  13 

going  to  be  married,  the  best  man,  and  even  the 
bridegroom  himself,  went  from  house  to  house, 
asking  for  small  sums  to  enable  them  to  have  a 
wedding  supper,  and  pay  the  town  fiddler  for  a 
dance ;  any  one  was  admitted  who  paid  a  penny. 
I  recollect  the  prisoners  in  the  Tolbooth  letting 
dovn  bags  from  the  prison  windows,  begging  for 
charity.  I  do  not  remember  any  execution  taking 
place. 

Men  and  old  women  of  the  lower  classes  smoked 
tobacco  in  short  pipes,  and  many  took  snuff — even 
young  ladies  must  have  done  so  ;  for  I  have  a  very 
pretty  and  quaint  gold  snuff-box  which  was  given  to 
my  grandmother  as  a  marriage  present.  Licensed  beg- 
gars, called  "  gaberlunzie  men,"  were  still  common. 
They  wore  a  blue  coat,  with  a  tin  badge,  and  wan- 
dered about  the  country,  knew  all  that  was  going 
on,  and  were  always  welcome  at  the  farm-houses, 
where  the  gude  wife  liked  to  have  a  crack  (gossip) 
with  the  blue  coat,  and,  in  return  for  his  news,  gave 
him  dinner  or  supper,  as  might  be.  Edie  Ochiltree 
is  a  perfect  specimen  of  this  extinct  race.  There 
was  another  species  of  beggar,  of  yet  higher  an- 
tiquity. If  a  man  were  a  cripple,  and  poor,  his 
relations  put  him  in  a  hand-barrow,  and  wheeled 
him  to  their  next  neighbour's  door,  and  left  him 
there.  Some  one  came  out,  gave  him  oat-cake 


14  Mary  Somerville. 

or  peasemeal  bannock,  and  then  wheeled  him  to  the 
next  door ;  and  in  this  way,  going  from  house  to 
house,  he  obtained  a  fair  livelihood. 

My  brother  Sam  lived  with  our  grandfather  in 
Edinburgh,  and  attended  the  High  School,  which 
was  in  the  old  town,  and,  like  other  boys,  he  was 
given  pennies  to  buy  bread ;  but  the  boys  preferred 
oysters,  which  they  bought  from  the  fishwives,  the 
bargain  being,  a  dozen  oysters  for  a  halfpenny,  and 
a  kiss  for  the  thirteenth.  These  fishwives  and  their 
husbands  were  industrious,  hard-working  people, 
forming  a  community  of  their  own  in  the  village  of 
Newhaven,  close  to  the  sea,  and  about  two  miles 
from  Edinburgh.  The  men  were  exposed  to  co]d, 
and  often  to  danger,  in  their  small  boats,  not  always 
well-built  nor  fitted  for  our  stormy  Firth.  The 
women  helped  to  land  and  prepare  the  fish  when 
the  boats  came  in,  carried  it  to  .town  for  sale  in  the 
early  morning,  kept  the  purse,  managed  the  house, 
brought  up  the  children,  and  provided  food  and 
clothing  for  all.  Many  were  rich,  lived  well,  and 
sometimes  had  dances.  Many  of  the  young  women 
were  pretty,  and  all  wore — and,  I  am  told,  still  wear 
— a  bright- coloured,  picturesque  costume.  Some 
young  men,  amongst  others  a  cousin  of  my  own, 
who  attempted  to  intrude  into  one  of  these  balls, 
got  pelted  with  fish  offal  by  the  women.  The  village 


Burntisland.  15 

smelt  strongly  of  fish,  certainly  ;  yet  the  people 
were  very  clean  personally.  I  recollect  their 
keeping  tame  gulls,  which  they  fed  with  fish  offal. 

Although  there  was  no  individual  enmity  between 
the  boys  of  the  old  and  of  the  new  or  aristocratic 
part  of  Edinburgh,  there  were  frequent  battles,  called 
"  bickers,"  between  them,  in  which  they  pelted  each 
other  with  stones.  Sometimes  they  were  joined  by 
bigger  lads,  and  then  the  fight  became  so  serious 
that  the  magistrates  sent  the  city  guard — a  set  of 
old  men  with  halberds  and  a  quaint  uniform — to 
separate  them  ;  but  no  sooner  did  the  guard  appear, 
than  both  parties  joined  against  them. 

Strings  of  wild  geese  were  common  in  autumn, 
and  I  was  amused  on  one  occasion  to  see  the  clumsy 
tame  fat  geese  which  were  feeding  on  the  Links  rise 
in  a  body  and  try  to  follow  the  wild  ones. 

As  the  grass  on  the  plot  before  our  house  did  not 
form  a  fine  even  turf,  the  ground  was  trenched  and 
sown  with  good  seed,  but  along  with  the  grass  avast 
crop  of  thistles  and  groundsel  appeared,  which  at- 
tracted quantities  of  goldfinches,  and  in  the  early 
mornings  I  have  seen  as  many  as  sixty  to  eighty  of 
these  beautiful  birds  feeding  on  it. 

My  love  of  birds  has  continued  through  life,  for 
only  two  years  ago,  in  my  extreme  old  age,  I  lost  a 
pet  mountain  sparrow,  which  for  eight  years  was  my 


]6  Mary  Somervtlle, 

constant  companion  :  sitting  on  my  shoulder,  peck- 
ing at  my  papers,  and  eating  out  of  my  mouth  ;  and 
I  am  not  ashamed  to  say  I  felt  its  accidental 
death  very  much. 

Before  the  grass  came  up  on  this  plot  of  ground, 
its  surface  in  the  evening  swarmed  with  earthworms, 
which  instantly  shrank  into  their  holes  on  the  ap- 
proach of  a  foot.  My  aunt  Janet,  who  was  then 
with  us,  and  afraid  even  to  speak  of  death,  was 
horrified  on  seeing  them,  firmly  believing  that  she 
would  one  day  be  eaten  by  them — a  very  general 
opinion  at  that  time  ;  few  people  being  then  aware 
that  the  finest  mould  in  our  gardens  and  fields 
has  passed  through  the  entrails  of  the  earthworm, 
the  vegetable  juices  it  contains  being  sufficient  to 
maintain  these  harmless  creatures. 

My  mother  was  very  much  afraid  of  thunder  and 
lightning.  She  knew  when  a  storm  was  near  from 
the  appearance  of  the  clouds,  and  prepared  for  it  by 
taking  out  the  steel  pins  which  fastened  her  cap  on. 
She  then  sat  on  a  sofa  at  a  distance  from  the  fire- 
place, which  had  a  very  high  chimney,  and  read 
different  parts  of  the  Bible,  especially  the  sublime 
descriptions  of  storms  in  the  Psalms,  which  made 
me,  who  sat  close  by  her,  still  more  afraid.  We  had 
an  excellent  and  beautiful  pointer,  called  Hero,  a 
great  favourite,  who  generally  lived  in  the  garden,  but 


Childhood^  17 

at  the  first  clap  of  thunder  he  used  to  rush  howling 
in-doors,  and  place  his  face  on  my  knee.  Then  my 
father,  who  laughed  not  a  little  at  our  fear,  would 
bring  a  glass  of  wine  to  my  mother,  and  say,  "  Drink 
that,  Peg  ;  it  will  give  you  courage,  for  we  are  going 
to  have  a  rat- tat- too."  My  mother  would  beg  him 
to  shut  the  window-shutters,  and  though  she  could 
no  longer  see  to  read,  she  kept  the  Bible  on  her  knee 
for  protection. 

My  mother  taught  me  to  read  the  Bible,  and 
to  say  my  prayers  morning  and  evening ;  other- 
wise she  allowed  me  to  grow  up  a  wild  creature. 
When  I  was  seven  or  eight  years  old  I  began  to 
be  useful,  for  I  pulled  the  fruit  for  preserving ; 
shelled  the  peas  and  beans,  fed  the  poultry,  and 
looked  after  the  dairy,  for  we  kept  a  cow. 

On  one  occasion  I  had  put  green  gooseberries  into 
bottles  and  sent  them  to  the  kitchen  with  orders  to 
the  cook  to  boil  the  bottles  uncorked,  and,  when  the 
fruit  was  sufficiently  cooked,  to  cork  and  tie  up  the 
bottles.  After  a  time  all  the  house  was  alarmed  by 
loud  explosions  and  violent  screaming  in  the  kitchen ; 
the  cook  had  corked  the  bottles  before  she  boiled 
them,  and  of  course  they  exploded.  For  greater 
preservation,  the  bottles  were  always  buried  in  the 
ground ;  a  number  were  once  found  in  our  garden 
with  the  fruit  in  high  preservation  which  had  been 


18  Mary  Somerville. 

buried  no  one  knew  when.  Thus  experience  is 
sometimes  the  antecedent  of  science,  for  it  was  little 
suspected  at  that  time  that  by  shutting  out  the  air 
the  invisible  organic  world  was  excluded — the  cause 
of  all  fermentation  and  decay. 

I  never  cared  for  dolls,  and  had  no  one  to  play 
with  me.  I  amused  myself  in  the  garden,  which 
was  much  frequented  by  birds.  I  knew  most  of 
them,  their  flight  and  their  habits.  The  swallows 
were  never  prevented  from  building  above  our 
windows,  and,  when  about  to  migrate,  they  used  to 
assemble  in  hundreds  on  the  roof  of  our  house,  and 
prepared  for  their  journey  by  short  flights.  We  fed 
the  birds  when  the  ground  was  covered  with  snow, 
and  opened  our  windows  at  breakfast-time  to  let  in 
the  robins,  who  would  hop  on  the  table  to  pick  up 
crumbs.  The  quantity  of  singing  birds  was  very 
great,  for  the  farmers  and  gardeners  were  less  cruel 
and  avaricious  than  they  are  now — though  poorer. 
They  allowed  our  pretty  songsters  to  share  in  the 
bounties  of  providence.  The  shortsighted  cruelty, 
which  is  too  prevalent  now,  brings  its  own  punish- 
ment, for,  owing  to  the  reckless  destruction  of  birds, 
the  equilibrium  of  nature  is  disturbed,  insects  in- 
crease to  such  an  extent  as  materially  to  affect  every 
description  of  crop.  This  summer  (1872),  when  I 
was  at  Sorrento,  even  the  olives,  grapes,  and  oranges 


The  Catechism.  19 

were  seriously  injured  by  the  caterpillars — a  dis- 
aster which  I  entirely  attribute  to  the  ruthless 
havoc  made  among  every  kind  of  bird. 

*  *  *  *  * 

My  mother  set  me  in  due  time  to  learn  the 
catechism  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland,  and  to  attend 
the  public  examinations  in  the  kirk.  This  was  a 
severe  trial  for  me  ;  for,  besides  being  timid  and 
shy,  I  had  a  bad  memory,  and  did  not  understand 
one  word  of  the  catechism.  These  meetings,  which 
began  with  prayer,  were  attended  by  all  the  chil- 
dren of  the  town  and  neighbourhood,  with  their 
mothers,  and  a  great  many  old  women,  who  came 
to  be  edified.  They  were  an  acute  race,  and  could 
quote  chapter  and  verse  of  Scripture  as  accurately 
as  the  minister  himself.  I  remember  he  said  to  one 
of  them — "  Peggie,  what  lightened  the  world  before 
the  sun  was  made  ? "  After  thinking  for  a  minute, 
she  said — "'Deed,  sir,  the  question  is  mair  curious 
than  edifying." 

Besides  these  public  examinations,  the  minister 
made  an  annual  visit  to  each  household  in  his 
parish.  When  he  came  to  us,  the  servants  were 
called  in,  and  we  all  knelt  while  he  said  a  prayer ; 
and  then  he  examined  each  individual  as  to  the 
state  of  his  soul  and  conduct.  He  asked  me  if  I 

could  say  my  "Questions" — that  is,  the  catechism  of 

c  2 


20  Mary  Somerville. 

the  Kirk  of  Scotland — and  asked  a  question  at 
random  to  ascertain  the  fact.  He  did  the  same  to 
the  servants. 

When  I  was  between  eight  and  nine  years  old,  my 
father  came  home  from  sea,  and  was  shocked  to  find 
me  such  a  savage.  •  I  had  not  yet  been  taught  to 
write,  and  although  I  amused  myself  reading  the 
"  Arabian  Nights,"  "  Robinson  Crusoe/'  and  the 
"  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  I  read  very  badly,  and  with  a 
strong  Scotch  accent ;  so,  besides  a  chapter  of  the 
Bible,  he  made  me  read  a  paper  of  the  "  Spectator  " 
aloud  every  morning,  after  breakfast;  the  conse- 
quence of  which  discipline  is  that  I  have  never  since 
opened  that  book.  Hume's  "  History  of  England  " 
was  also  a  real  penance  to  me.  I  gladly  accompanied 
my  father  when  he  cultivated  his  flowers,  which  even 
now  I  can  say  were  of  the  best  quality.  The  tulips 
and  other  bulbous  plants,  ranunculi,  anemones,  car- 
nations, as  well  as  the  annuals  then  known,  were  all 
beautiful.  He  used  to  root  up  and  throw  away 
many  plants  I  thought  very  beautiful ;  he  said  he 
did  so  because  the  colours  of  their  petals  were  not 
sharply  defined,  and  that  they  would  spoil  the 
seed  of  the  others.  Thus  I  learnt  to  know  the 
good  and  the  bad — how  to  lay  carnations,  and 
how  to  distinguish  between  the  leaf  and  fruit  buds 
in  pruning  fruit  trees ;  this  kind  of  knowledge 


School.  21 

was  of  no  practical  use,  for,  as  my  after-life  was 
spent  in  towns,  I  never  had  a  garden,  to  my  great 
regret. 

George  the  Third  was  so  popular,  that  even  in 
Burntisland  nosegays  were  placed  in  every  window 
on  the  4th  of  June,  his  birthday  ;  and  it  occasionally 
happened  that  our  garden  was  robbed  the  preceding 
night  of  its  gayest  flowers. 

My  father  at  last  said  to  my  mother, — "  This  kind 
of  life  will  never  do,  Mary  must  at  least  know 
how  to  write  and  keep  accounts."  So  at  ten  years 
old  I  wras  sent  to  a  boarding-school,  kept  by  a 
Miss  Primrose,  at  Musselburgh,  where  I  was  utterly 
wretched.  The  change  from  perfect  liberty  to  per- 
petual restraint  was  in  itself  a  great  trial ;  besides, 
being  naturally  shy  and  timid,  I  was  afraid  of 
strangers,  and  although  Miss  Primrose  Avas  not 
unkind  she  had  an  habitual  frown,  which  even  the 
elder  girls  dreaded.  My  future  companions,  who 
were  all  older  than  I,  came  round  me  like  a 
swarm  of  bees,  and  asked  if  my  father  had  a  title, 
what  was  the  name  of  our  estate,  if  we  kept 
a  carriage,  and  other  such  questions,  which  made 
me  first  feel  the  difference  of  station.  However, 
the  girls  were  very  kind,  and  often  bathed  my 
eyes  to  prevent  our  stern  mistress  from  seeing 
that  I  was  perpetually  in  tears.  A  few  days  after 


22  Mary  Somerville. 

my  arrival,  although  perfectly  straight  and  well- 
made,  I  was  enclosed  in  stiff  stays  with  a  steel 
busk  in  front,  while,  above  my  frock,  bands  drew 
my  shoulders  back  till  the  shoulder-blades  met. 
Then  a  steel  rod,  with  a  semi-circle  which  went 
under  the  chin,  was  clasped  to  the  steel  busk  in 
my  stays.  In  this  constrained  state  I,  and  most 
of  the  younger  girls,  had  to  prepare  our  lessons. 
The  chief  thing  I  had  to  do  was  to  learn  by  heart 
a  page  of  Johnson's  dictionary,  not  only  to  spell 
the  words,  give  their  parts  of  speech  and  meaning, 
but  as  an  exercise  of  memory  to  remember  their 
order  of  succession.  Besides  I  had  to  learn  the 
first  principles  of  writing,  and  the  rudiments  of 
French  and  English  grammar.  The  method  of 
teaching  was  extremely  tedious  and  inefficient. 
Our  religious  duties  were  attended  to  in  a  remark- 
able way.  Some  of  the  girls  were  Presbyterians, 
others  belonged  to  the  Church  of  England,  so  Miss 
Primrose  cut  the  matter  short  by  taking  us  all  to 
the  kirk  in  the  morning  and  to  church  in  the 
afternoon. 

In  our  play-hours  we  amused  ourselves  with 
playing  at  ball,  marbles,  and  especially  at  "  Scotch 
and  English,"  a  game  which  represented  a  raid  on 
the  debatable  land,  or  Border  between  Scotland  and 
England,  in  which  each  party  tried  to  rob  the 


Holidays.  23 

other  of  their  playthings.  The  little  ones  were 
always  compelled  to  be  English,  for  the  bigger  girls 
thought  it  too  degrading. 

Lady  Hope,  a  relative  of  my  mother,  frequently 
invited  me  to  spend  Saturday  at  Pinkie.  She  was 
a  very  ladylike  person,  in  delicate  health,  and  with 
cold  manners.  Sir  Archibald  was  stout,  loud,  pas- 
sionate, and  devoted  to  hunting.  I  amused  myself 
in  the  grounds,  a  good  deal  afraid  of  a  turkey- 
cock,  who  was  pugnacious  and  defiant. 


CHAPTER   II. 

FREEDOM — RELIGIOUS   EDUCATION — JEDBURGH. 

[My  mother  remained  at  school  at  Musselburgh  for  a 
twelvemonth,  till  she  was  eleven  years  old.  After  this 
prolonged  and  elaborate  education,  she  was  recalled  to 
Burntisland,  and  the  results  of  the  process  she  had 
undergone  are  detailed  in  her  "  Recollections "  with 
much  drollery. 


SOON  after  iny  return  home  I  received  a  note 
from  a  lady  in  the  neighbourhood,  inquiring  for  my 
mother,  who  had  been  ill.  This  note  greatly  dis- 
tressed me,  for  my  half -text  writing  was  as  bad  as 
possible,  and  I  could  neither  compose  an  answer  nor 
spell  the  words.  My  eldest  cousin,  Miss  Somerville, 
a  grown-up  young  lady,  then  with  us,  got  me  out  of 
this  scrape,  but  I  soon  got  myself  into  another,  by 
writing  to  my  brother  in  Edinburgh  that  I  had 
sent  him  a  bank-knot  (note)  to  buy  something  for 
me.  The  school  at  Musselburgh  was  expensive, 
and  I  was  reproached  with  having  cost  so  much 
money  in  vain.  My  mother  said  she  would  have 


Freedom.  25 

been  contented  if  I  had  only  learnt  to  write  well 
and  keep  accounts,  which  was  all  that  a  woman  was 
expected  to  know. 

This  passed  over,  and  I  was  like  a  wild  animal 
escaped  out  of  a  cage.  I  was  no  longer  amused 
in  the  gardens,  but  wandered  about  the  country. 
When  the  tide  was  out  I  spent  hours  on  the  sands, 
looking  at  the  star-fish  and  sea-urchins,  or  watch- 
ing the  children  digging  for  sand-eels,  cockles,  and 
the  spouting  razor-fish.  I  made  a  collection  of 
shells,  such  as  were  cast  ashore,  some  so  small  that 
they  appeared  like  white  specks  in  patches  of  black 
sand.  There  was  a  small  pier  on  the  sands  for 
shipping  limestone  brought  from  the  coal  mines 
inland.  I  was  astonished  to  see  the  surface  of 
these  blocks  of  stone  covered  with  beautiful  im- 
pressions of  what  seemed  to  be  leaves ;  how  they 
got  there  I  could  not  imagine,  but  I  picked  up 
the  broken  bits,  and  even  large  pieces,  and  brought 
them  to  my  repository.  I  knew  the  eggs  of  many 
birds,  and  made  a  collection  of  them.  I  never 
robbed  a  nest,  but  bought  strings  of  eggs,  which 
were  sold  by  boys,  besides  getting  sea-fowl  eggs 
from  sailors  who  had  been  in  whalers  or  on  other 
northern  voyages'.  It  was  believed  by  these  sailors 
that  there  was  a  gigantic  flat  fish  in  the  North  Sea, 
called  a  kraken.  It  was  so  enormous  that  when 


26  Mary  Somerville. 

it  came  to  the  surface,  covered  with  tangles  and 
sand,  it  was  supposed  to  be  an  island,  till,  on  one 
occasion,  part  of  a  ship's  crew  landed  on  it  and 
found  out  their  mistake.  However,  much  as  they 
believed  in  it,  none  of  the  sailors  at  Burntisland 
had  ever  seen  it.  The  sea  serpent  was  also  an 
article  of  our  faith. 

In  the  rocks  at  the  end  of  our  garden  there 
was  a  shingly  opening,  in  which  we  used  to 
bathe,  and  where  at  low  tide  I  frequently  waded 
among  masses  of  rock  covered  with  sea-weeds. 
With  the  exception  of  dulse  and  tangle  I  knew 
the  names  of  none,  though  I  was  well  acquainted 
with  and  admired  many  of  these  beautiful  plants. 
I  also  watched  the  crabs,  live  shells,  jelly-fish,  and 
various  marine  animals,  all  of  which  were  objects 
of  curiosity  and  amusement  to  me  in  my  lonely  life. 

The  flora  on  the  links  and  hills  around  was  very 
beautiful,  and  I  soon  learnt  the  trivial  names  of  all 
the  plants.  There  was  not  a  tree  nor  bush  higher 
than  furze  in  this  part  of  the  country,  but  the  coast 
to  the  n'orth-west  of  Burntisland  was  bordered  by  a 
tree  and  brushwood-covered  bank  belonging  to  the 
Earl  of  Morton,  which  extended  to  Aberdour.  I 
could  not  go  so  far  alone,  but  had  frequent  oppor- 
tunities of  walking  there  and  gathering  ferns,  fox- 
gloves, and  primroses,  which  grew  on  the  mossy 


Shakespeare.  27 

banks  of  a  little  stream  that  ran  into  the  sea.  The 
bed  of  this  stream  or  burn  was  thickly  covered 
with  the  freshwater  mussel,  which  I  knew  often 
contained  pearls,  but  I  did  not  like  to  kill  the 
creatures  to  get  the  pearls. 

One  day  my  father,  who  was  a  keen  sportsman, 
having  gone  to  fish  for  red  trout  at  the  mouth  of  this 
stream,  found  a  young  whale,  or  grampus,  stranded 
in  the  shallow  water.  He  immediately  ran  back 
to  the  town,  got  boats,  captured  the  whale,  and 
landed  it  in  the  harbour,  where  I  went  with  the 
rest  of  the  crowd  to  see  the  mucJclefah. 

There  was  always  a  good  deal  of  shipbuilding 
carried  on  in  the  harbour,  generally  coasting  vessels 
or  colliers.  We,  of  course,  went  to  see  them  launched, 
which  was  a  pretty  sight. 

*  *  *  *  # 

When  the  bad  weather  began  I  did  not  know 
what  to  do  with  myself.  Fortunately  we  had  a 
small  collection  of  books,  among  which  I  found 
Shakespeare,  and  read  it  at  every  moment  I  could 
spare  from  my  domestic  duties.  These  occupied  a 
great  part  of  my  time ;  besides,  I  had  to  shew 
(sew)  my  sampler,  working  the  alphabet  from  A 
to  Z,  as  well  as  the  ten  numbers,  on  canvas. 

My  mother  did  not  prevent  me  from  reading,  but 
my  aunt  Janet,  who  came  to  live  in  Burntisland 


~S  Mary  Somerville. 

after  her  father's  death,  greatly  disapproved  of  my 
conduct.  She  was  an  old  maid  who  could  be  very  ' 
agreeable  and  witty,  but  she  had  all  the  prejudices 
of  the  time  with  regard  to  women's  duties,  and  said 
to  my  mother,  "  I  wonder  you  let  Mary  waste  her 
time  in  reading,  she  never  shews  (sews)  more  than  if 
she  were  a  man."  Whereupon  I  was  sent  to  the 
village  school  to  learn  plain  needlework.  I  do  not 
remember  how  long  it  was  after  this  that  an  old 
lady  sent  some  very  fine  linen  to  be  made  into 
shirts  for  her  brother,  and  desired  that  one  should 
be  made  entirely  by  me.  This  shirt  was  so  well 
worked  that  I  was  relieved  from  attending  the 
school,  but  the  house  linen  was  given  into  my 
charge  to  make  and  to  mend.  We  had  a  large 
stock,  much  of  it  very  beautiful,  for  the  Scotcn 
ladies  at  that  time  were  very  proud  of  their  napery, 
but  they  no  longer  sent  it  to  Holland  to  be  bleached, 
as  had  once  been  the  custom.  We  grew  flax,  and 
our  maids  spun  it.  The  coarser  yarn  was  woven  in 
Burntisland,  and  bleached  upon  the  links ;  the  finer 
was  sent  to  Dunfermline,  where  there  was  a  manu- 
factory of  table-linen. 

I  was  annoyed  that  my  turn  for  reading  was  so 
much  disapproved  of,  and  thought  it  unjust  that 
women  should  have  been  given  a  desire  for  know- 
ledge if  it  were  wrong  to  acquire  it.  Among  our 


Memory.  29 

books  I  found  Chapone's  "  Letters  to  Young  Women," 
and  resolved  to  follow  the  course  of  history  there 
recommended,  the  more  so  as  we  had  most  of  the 
works  she  mentions.  One,  however,  which  my 
cousin  lent  me  was  in  French,  and  here  the  little  I  had 
learnt  at  school  was  useful,  for  with  the  help  of  a 
dictionary  I  made  out  the  sense.  What  annoyed 
me  was  my  memory  not  being  good — I  could  re- 
member neither  names  nor  dates.  Years  afterwards 
I  studied  a  "  Memoria  Technica,"  then  in  fashion, 
without  success ;  yet  in  my  youth  I  could  play  long 
pieces  of  music  on  the  piano  without  the  book,  and 
I  never  forget  mathematical  formulae.  In  looking 
over  one  of  my  MSS.,  which  I  had  not  seen  for  forty 
years,  I  at  once  recognised  the  formulae  for  com- 
puting the  secular  inequalities  of  the  moon. 

We  had  two  small  globes,  and  my  mother  allowed 
me  to  learn  the  use  of  them  from  Mr.  Eeed,  the 
village  schoolmaster,  who  came  to  teach  me  for  a 
few  weeks  in  the  winter  evenings.  Besides  the 
ordinary  branches,  Mr.  Reed  taught  Latin  and  navi- 
gation, but  these  were  out  of  the  question  for  me. 
At  the  village  school  the  boys  often  learnt  Latin, 
but  it  was  thought  sufficient  for  the  girls  to  be  able 
to  read  the  Bible  ;  very  few  even  learnt  writing.  I 
recollect,  however,  that  some  men  were  ignorant  of 
book-keeping ;  our  baker,  for  instance,  had  a  wooden 


30  Mary  Somervilie. 

tally,  in  which  he  made  a  notch  for  every  loaf  of 
bread,  and  of  course  we  had  the  corresponding  tally. 
They  were  called  nick-sticks. 

My  bedroom  had  a  window  to  the  south,  and  a 
small  closet  near  had  one  to  the  north.  At  these  I 
spent  many  hours,  studying  the  stars  by  the  aid  of 
the  celestial  globe.  Although  I  watched  and  ad- 
mired the  magnificent  displays  of  the  Aurora,  which 
frequently  occurred,  they  seemed  to  be  so  nearly 
allied  to  lightning  that  I  was  somewhat  afraid  of 
them.  At  an  earlier  period  of  my  life  there  was  a 
comet,  which  I  dreaded  exceedingly. 

*  *  *  *  # 

My  father  was  Captain  of  the  "  Repulse,"  a  fifty- 
gun  ship,  attached  to  the  Northern  fleet  commanded 
by  the  Earl  of  Northesk.  The  winter  was  extremely 
stormy,  the  fleet  was  driven  far  north,  and  kept 
there  by  adverse  gales,  till  both  officers  and  crew 
were  on  short  rations.  They  ran  out  of  candles, 
and  had  to  tear  up  their  stockings  for  wicks,  and 
dip  them  into  the  fat  of  the  salt  meat  which  was 
left.  We  were  in  great  anxiety,  for  it  was  reported 
that  some  of  the  ships  had  foundered ;  we  were, 
however,  relieved  by  the  arrival  of  the  "Repulse" 
in  Leith  roads  for  repair. 

Our  house  on  one  occasion  being  full,  I  was 
sent  to  sleep  in  a  room  quite  detached  from  the 


Nocturnal  Terrors.  31 

rest  and  with  a  different  staircase.  There  was 
a  closet  in  this  room  in  which  my  father  kept 
his  fowling  pieces,  fishing  tackle,  and  golf  clubs, 
and  a  long  garret  overhead  was  filled  with 
presses  and  stores  of  all  kinds,  among  other  things 
a  number  of  large  cheeses  were  on  a  board  slung 
by  ropes  to  the  rafters.  One  night  I  had  put 
out  my  candle  and  was  fast  asleep,  when  I  was 
awakened  by  a  violent  crash,  and  then  a  rolling  noise 
over  my  head.  Now  the  room  was  said  to  be 
haunted,  so  that  the  servants  would  not  sleep  in  it. 
I  was  desperate,  for  there  was  no  bell  I  groped 
my  way  to  the  closet — lucifer  matches  were  un- 
known in  those  days — I  seized  one  of  the  golf  clubs, 
which  are  shod  with  iron,  and  thundered  on  the  bed- 
room door  till  I  brought  my  father,  followed  by 
the  whole  household,  to  my  aid.  It  was  found 
that  the  rats  had  gnawed  through  the  ropes  by 
which  the  cheeses  were  suspended,  so  that  the  crash 
and  rolling  were  accounted  for,  and  I  was  scolded 
for  making  such  an  uproar. 

Children  suffer  much  misery  by  being  left  alone  in 
the  dark.  When  I  was  very  young  I  was  sent  to  bed  at 
eight  or  nine  o'clock,  and  the  maid  who  slept  in  the 
room  went  away  as  soon  as  I  was  in  bed,  leaving 
me  alone  in  the  dark  till  she  came  to  bed  herself. 
All  that  time  I  was  in  an  agony  of  fear  of  something 


32  Mary  Somerville. 

indefinite,  1  could  not  tell  what.  The  joy,  the  relief, 
when  the  maid  came  back,  were  such  that  I  instantly 
fell  asleep.  Now  that  I  am  a  widow  and  old, 
although  I  always  have  a  night-lamp,  such  is  the 
power  of  early  impressions  that  I  rejoice  when 
daylight  comes. 

•/       o 

***** 
At  Burntisland  the  sacrament  was  administered  in 
summer  because  people  came  in  crowds  from  the 
neighbouring  parishes  to  attend  the  preachings. 
The  service  was  long  and  fatiguing.  A  number 
of  clergymen  came  to  assist,  and  as  the  minister's 
manse  could  not  accommodate  them  all,  we  enter- 
tained three  of  them,  one  of  whom  was  always  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Campbell,  father  of  Lord  Campbell. 

Thursday  was  a  day  of  preparation.  The  morning 
service  began  by  a  psalm  sung  by  the  congregation, 
then  a  prayer  was  said  by  the  minister,  followed  by 
a  lecture  on  some  chapter  of  the  Bible,  generally 
lasting  an  hour,  after  that  another  psalm  was  sung, 
followed  by  a  prayer,  a  sermon  which  lasted  seldom 
less  than  an  hour,  and  the  whole  ended  with  a 
psalm,  a  short  prayer  and  a  benediction.  Every  one 
then  went  home  to  dinner  and  returned  afterwards 
for  afternoon  service,  which  lasted  more  than  an 
hour  and  a  half.  Friday  was  a  day  of  rest,  but  1 
together  with  many  young  people  went  at  this  time 


The  Sacrament.  33 

to  the  minister  to  receive  a  stamped  piece  of  lead  as 
a  token  that  we  were  sufficiently  instructed  to  be 
admitted  to  Christ's  table.  This  ticket  was  given 
to  the  Elder  on  the  following  Sunday.  On  Saturday 
there  was  a  morning  service,  and  on  Sunday  such 
multitudes  came  to  receive  the  sacrament  that  the 
devotions  continued  till  late  in  the  evening.  The 
ceremony  was  very  strikingly  and  solemnly  con- 
ducted. The  communicants  sat  on  each  side  of  long 
narrow  tables  covered  with  white  linen,  in  imitation 
of  the  last  supper  of  Christ,  and  the  Elders  handed 
the  bread  and  wine.  After  a  short  exhortation  from 
one  of  the  ministers  the  first  set  retired,  and  were 
succeeded  by  others.  When  the  weather  was  fine  a 
sermon,  prayers,  and  psalm-singing  took  place  either 
in  the  churchyard  or  on  a  grassy  bank  at  the  Links 
for  such  as  were  waiting  to  communicate.  On  the 
Monday  morning  there  was  the  same  long  service  as 
on  the  Thursday.  It  was  too  much  for  me ;  I  always 
came  home  with  a  headache,  and  took  a  dislike  to 
sermons. 

Our  minister  was  a  rigid  Calvinist.  His  sermons 
were  gloomy,  and  so  long  that  he  occasionally  would 
startle  the  congregation  by  calling  out  to  some  cul- 
prit, "  Sit  up  there,  how  daur  ye  sleep  i'  the  kirk." 
Some  saw-mills  in  the  neighbourhood  were  burnt 
down,  so  the  following  Sunday  we  had  a  sermon  on 


34  Mary  Somerville. 

hell-fire.  The  kirk  was  very  large  and  quaint ;  a 
stair  led  to  a  gallery  on  each  side  of  the  pulpit,  which 
was  intended  for  the  tradespeople,  and  each  division 
was  marked  with  a  suitable  device,  and  text  from 
Scripture.  On  the  bakers'  portion  a  sheaf  of  wheat 
was  painted  ;  a  balance  and  weights  on  the  grocers', 
and  on  the  weavers',  which  was  opposite  to  our  pew, 
there  was  a  shuttle,  and  below  it  the  motto,  "  My 
days  are  swifter  than  a  weaver's  shuttle,  and  are 
spent  without  hop  job."  The  artist  was  evidently 
no  clerk. 

My  brother  Sam,  while  attending  the  university 
in  Edinburgh,  came  to  us  on  the  Saturdays  and 
returned  to  town  on  Monday.  He  of  course 
went  with  us  to  the  kirk  on  Sunday  morning, 
but  we  let  our  mother  attend  afternoon  service 
alone,  as  he  and  I  were  happy  to  be  together, 
and  we  spent  the  time  sitting  on  the  grassy  rocks 
at  the  foot  of  our  garden,  from  whence  we  could 
see,, a  vast  extent  of  the  Firth  of  Forth  with  Edin- 
burgh and  its  picturesque  hills.  It  was  very 
amusing,  for  we  occasionally  saw  three  or  four 
whales  spouting,  and  shoals  of  porpoises  at  play. 
However,  we  did  not  escape  reproof,  for  I  recollect 
the  servant  coming  to  tell  us  that  the  minister 
had  sent  to  inquire  whether  Mr.  and  Miss  Fairfax 
had  been  taken  ill,  as  he  had  not  seen  them  at 


Edinburgh.  35 

the  kirk  in  the  afternoon.  The  minister  in  ques- 
tion was  Mr.  Wemyss,  who  had  married  a  younger 
sister  of  my  mother's. 

***** 
When  I  was  about  thirteen  my  mother  took  a 
small  apartment  in  Edinburgh  for  the  winter,  and  I 
was  sent  to  a  writing  school,  where  I  soon  learnt 
to  write  a  good  hand,  and  studied  the  common 
rules  of  arithmetic.  My  uncle  William  Henry 
Charters,  lately  returned  from  India,  gave  me  a 
pianoforte,  and  I  had  music  lessons  from  an  old  lady 
who  lived  in  the  top  story  of  one  of  the  highest  houses 
in  the  old  town.  I  slept  in  the  same  room  with 
my  mother.  One  morning  I  called  out,  much 
alarmed,  "  There  is  lightning  !"  but  my  mother  said, 
after  a  moment,  "  No  ;  it  is  fire  !"  and  on  opening 
the  window  shutters  I  found  that  the  flakes  of  fire 
flying  past  had  made  the  glass  quite  hot.  The  next 
house  but  one  was  on  fire  and  burning  fiercely, 
and  the  people  next  door  were  throwing  everything 
they  possessed,  even  china  and  glass,  out  of  the 
windows  into  the  street.  We  dressed  quickly,  and 
my  mother  sent  immediately  to  Trotter  the  up- 
holsterer for  four  men.  We  then  put  our  family 
papers,  our  silver,  &c.,  &c.,  into  trunks ;  then  my 
mother  said,  "  Now  let  us  breakfast,  it  is  time  enough 
for  us  to  move  our  things  when  the  next  house  takes 

D  2, 


36  Mary  Somerville. 

fire."  Of  its  doing  so  there  was  every  probability 
because  casks  of  turpentine  and  oil  were  exploding 
from  time  to  time  in  a  carriage  manufactory  at  the 
back  of  it.  Several  gentlemen  of  our  acquaintance 
who  came  to  assist  us  were  surprised  to  find  us 
breakfasting  quietly  as  if  there  were  nothing  unusual 
going  on.  In  fact  my  mother,  though  a  coward  in 
many  things,  had,  like  most  women,  the  presence  of 
mind  and  the  courage  of  necessity.  The  fire  was 
extinguished,  and  we  had  only  the  four  men  to  pay 
for  doing  nothing,  nor  did  we  sacrifice  any  of  our 
property  like  our  neighbours  who  had  completely 
lost  their  heads  from  terror.  I  may  mention 
here  that  on  one  occasion  when  my  father  was  at 
home  he  had  been  ill  with  a  severe  cold,  and  wore 
his  nightcap.  While  reading  in  the  drawing-room 
one  evening  he  called  out,  "  I  smell  fire,  there  is  no 
time  to  be  lost,"  so,  snatching  up  a  candle,  he 
wandered  from  room  to  room  followed  by  us  all  still 
smelling  fire,  when  one  of  the  servants  said,  "  0,  sir, 
it  is  the  tassel  of  your  nightcap  that  is  on  fire." 


On  returning  to  Burntisland,  I  spent  four  or  five 
hours  daily  at  the  piano  ;  and  for  the  sake  of  having 
something  to  do,  I  taught  myself  Latin  enough, 
from  such  books  as  we  had,  to  read  Csesar's  "  Com- 


Jedburgh.  37 

mentaries."  I  went  that  summer  on  a  visit  to  my 
aunt  at  Jedburgh,  and,  for  the  first  time  in  my  life, 
I  met  in  my  uncle,  Dr.  Somerville,  with  a  friend 
who  approved  of  my  thirst  for  knowledge.  During 
long  walks  with  him  in  the  early  mornings,  he  was 
so  kind,  that  I  had  the  courage  to  tell  him  that  I 
had  been  trying  to  learn  Latin,  but  I  feared  it  was 
in  vain  ;  for  my  brother  and  other  boys,  superior  to 
me  in  talent,  and  with  every  assistance,  spent  years 
in  learning  it.  He  assured  me,  on  the  contrary, 
that  in  ancient  times  many  women — some  of  them 
of  the  highest  rank  in  England — had  been  very 
elegant  scholars,  and  that  he  would  read  Virgil 
with  me  if  I  would  come  to  his  study  for  an 
hour  or  two  every  morning  before  breakfast,  which 
I  gladly  did. 

I  never  was  happier  in  my  life  than  during  the 
months  I  spent  at  Jedburgh.  My  aunt  was  a 
charming  companion — witty,  full  of  anecdote,  and 
had  read  more  than  most  women  of  her  day,  es- 
pecially Shakespeare,  who  was  her  favourite  author. 
My  cousins  had  little  turn  for  reading,  but  they 
were  better  educated  than  most  girls.  They  were 
taught  to  write  by  David  Brewster,  son  of  the 
village  schoolmaster,  afterwards  Sir  David,  who 
became  one  of  the  most  distinguished  philosophers 
and  discoverers  of  the  age,  member  of  all  the 


38  Mary  Somerville. 

scientific  societies  at  home  and  abroad,  and  at  last 
President  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  He  was 
studying  in  Edinburgh  when  I  was  at  Jedburgh ; 
so  I  did  not  make  his  acquaintance  then ;  but  later 
in  life  he  became  my  valued  friend.  I  did  not 
know  till  after  his  death,  that,  while  teaching  my 
cousins,  he  fell  in  love  with  my  cousin  Margaret. 
I  do  not  believe  she  was  aware  of  it.  She  was 
afterwards  attached  to  an  officer  in  the  army  ;  but 
my  aunt  would  not  allow  her  to  go  to  that  out- 
landish place,  Malta,  where  he  was  quartered  ;  so 
she  lived  and  died  unmarried.  Steam  has  changed 
our  ideas  of  distance  since  that  time. 

My  uncle's  house — the  manse — in  which  I  was 
born,  stands  in  a  pretty  garden,  bounded  by  the 
fine  ancient  abbey,  which,  though  partially  ruined, 
still  serves  as  the  parish  kirk.  The  garden  produced 
abundance  of  common  flowers,  vegetables,  and  fruit. 
Some  of  the  plum  and  pear  trees  were  very  old,  and 
were  said  to  have  been  planted  by  the  monks. 
Both  were  excellent  in  quality,  and  very  productive. 
The  view  from  both  garden  and  manse  was  over  the 
beautiful  narrow  valley  through  which  the  Jed 
flows.  The  precipitous  banks  of  red  sandstone 
are  richly  clothed  with  vegetation,  some  of  the  trees 
ancient  and  very  fine,  especially  the  magnificent  one 
called  the  capon  tree,  and  the  lofty  king  of  the 


Jedburgh.  39 

wood,  remnants  of  the  fine  forests  which  at  one 
time  had  covered  the  country.  An  inland  scene 
was  new  to  me,  and  I  was  never  tired  of  admiring 
the  tree-crowned  scaurs  or  precipices,  where  the  rich 
glow  of  the  red  sandstone  harmonized  so  well  with 
the  autumnal  tints  of  the  foliage. 

We  often  bathed  in  the  pure  stream  of  the  Jed. 
My  aunt  always  went  with  us,  and  was  the  merriest 
of  the  party;  we  bathed  in  a  pool  which  was 
deep  under  the  high  scaur,  but  sloped  gradually 
from  the  grassy  bank  on  the  other  side.  Quiet  and 
transparent  as  the  Jed  was,  it  one  day  came  down 
with  irresistible  fury,  red  with  the  debris  of  the 
sandstone  scaurs.  There  had  been  a  thunderstorm 
in  the  hills  up-stream,  and  as  soon  as  the  river 
began  to  rise,  the  people  came  out  with  pitchforks 
and  hooks  to  catch  the  hayricks,  sheaves  of  corn, 
drowned  pigs,  and  other  animals  that  came  sweeping 
past.  My  cousins  and  I  were  standing  on  the 
bridge,  but  my  aunt  called  us  oft  when  the  water 
rose  above  the  arches,  for  fear  of  the  bridge  giving 
way.  We  made  expeditions  every  day  ;  sometimes 
we  went  nutting  in  the  forest ;  at  other  times  we 
gathered  mushrooms  on  the  grass  parks  of  Stewart- 
field,  where  there  was  a  wood  of  picturesque  old 
Scotch  firs,  inhabited  by  a  colony  of  rooks.  I  still 
kept  the  habit  of  looking  out  for  birds,  and  had  the 


40  Mary  Somerville. 

good  fortune  to  see  a  heron,  now  a  rare  bird  in  the 
valley  of  the  Jed.  Some  of  us  went  every  day  to 
a  spring  called  the  Allerly  well,  about  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  from  the  manse,  and  brought  a  large  jug  of 
its  sparkling  water  for  dinner.  The  evenings  were 
cheerful ;  my  aunt  sang  Scotch  songs  prettily,  and 
told  us  stories  and  legends  about  Jedburgh,  which 
had  been  a  royal  residence  in  the  olden  time.  She 
had  a  tame  white  and  t^iwny-coloured  owl,  which 
we  fed  every  night,  and  sometimes  brought  into  the 
drawing-room.  The  Sunday  evening  never  was 
gloomy,  though  properly  observed.  We  occasionally 
drank  tea  with  acquaintances,  and  made  visits  of  a 
few  days  to  the  Rutherfurds  of  Edgerton  and  others  ; 
but  I  was  always  glad  to  return  to  the  manse. 

My  uncle,  like  other  ministers  of  the  Scottish 
Kirk,  was  allowed  a  glebe,  which  he  farmed  him- 
self. Besides  horses,  a  cow  was  kept,  which  sup- 
plied the  family  with  cream  and  butter,  and  the 
skimmed  milk  was  given  to  the  poor ;  but  as  the 
milk  became  scarce,  one  woman  was  deprived,  for  the 
time,  of  her  share.  Soon  after,  the  cow  was  taken 
ill,  and  my  uncle's  ploughman,  Will,  came  to  him 
and  said,  "  Sir,  gin  you  would  give  that  carline 
Tibby  Jones  her  soup  o'  milk  again,  the  coo  would 
soon  be  weel  eneugh."  Will  was  by  no  means  the 
only  believer  in  witchcraft  at  that  time. 


CHAPTER  III. 

EDINBURGH — YOUTHFUL    STUDIES     AND    AMUSEMENTS — POLITICS — THE 
THEATRES   OF   THE   TIME. 

[My  mother's  next  visit  was  to  the  house  of  her  uncle, 
William  Charters,  in  Edinburgh.  From  thence  she  was 
enabled  to  partake  of  the  advantages  of  a  dancing-school 
of  the  period. 


THEY  sent  me  to  Strange' s  dancing  school.  Strange 
himself  was  exactly  like  a  figure  on  the  stage ;  tall 
and  thin,  he  wore  a  powdered  wig,  with  cannons  at 
the  ears,  and  a  pigtail.  Ruffles  at  the  breast  and 
wrists,  white  waistcoat,  black  silk  or  velvet  shorts,, 
white  silk  stockings,  large  silver  buckles,  and  a  pale 
blue  coat  completed  his  costume.  He  had  a  little 
fiddle  on  which  he  played,  called  a  kit.  My  first 
lesson  was  how  to  walk  and  make  a  curtsey.  "Young 
lady,  if  you  visit  the  queen  you  must  make  three 
curtsies,  lower  and  lower  and  lower  as  you  approach 
her.  So — o — o/'  leading  me  on  and  making  me 
curtsey.  "  Now,  if  the  queen  were  to  ask  you  to 
eat  a  bit  of  mutton  with  her,  what  would  you  say  ?  " 


42  Mary  Somerville. 

Every  Saturday  afternoon  all  the  scholars,  both  boys 
and  girls,  met  to  practise  in  the  public  assembly 
rooms  in  George's  Street.  It  was  a  handsome  large 
hall  with  benches  rising  like  an  amphitheatre. 
Some  of  the  elder  girls  were  very  pretty,  and 
danced  well,  so  these  practisings  became  a  lounge  for 
officers  from  the  Castle,  and  other  young  men.  We 
used  always  to  go  in  full  evening  dress.  We  learnt 
the  minuet  de  la  GOUT,  reels  and  country  dances. 
Our  partners  used  to  give  us  gingerbread  and 
oranges.  Dancing  before  so  many  people  was  quite 
an  exhibition,  and  I  was  greatly  mortified  one  day 
when  ready  to  begin  a  minuet,  by  the  dancing- 
master  shaking  me  roughly  and  making  me  hold 
out  my  frock  properly. 

Though  kind  in  the  main,  my  uncle  and  his  wife 
were  rather  sarcastic  and  severe,  and  kept  me  down 
a  good  deal,  which  I  felt  keenly,  but  said  nothing.  I 
was  not  a  favourite  with  my  family  at  that  period 
of  my  life,  because  I  was  reserved  and  unexpansive, 
in  consequence  of  the  silence  I  was  obliged  to  observe 
on  the  subjects  which  interested  me.  Three  Miss 
Melvilles,  friends,  or  perhaps  relatives,  of  Mrs. 
Charters,  were  always  held  up  to  me  as  models  of 
perfection,  to  be  imitated  in  everything,  and  I 
wearied  of  hearing  them  constantly  praised  at  my 
expense. 


Edinburgh  Gossip.  43 

In  a  small  society  like  that  of  Edinburgh  there 
was  a  good  deal  of  scandal  and  gossip  ;  every  one's 
character  and  conduct  were  freely  criticised,  and  by 
none  more  than  by  my  aunt  and  her  friends.  She 
used  to  sit  at  a  window  embroidering,  where  she  not 
only  could  see  every  one  that  passed,  but  with  a 
small  telescope  could  look  into  the  dressing-room  of 
a  lady  of  her  acquaintance,  and  watch  all  she  did. 
A  spinster  lady  of  good  family,  a  cousin  of  ours, 
carried  her  gossip  so  far,  that  she  was  tried  for  de- 
famation, and  condemned  to  a  month's  imprisonment, 
which  she  actually  underwent  in  the  Tolbooth.  She 
was  let  out  just  before  the  king's  birthday,  to  cele- 
brate which,  besides  the  guns  fired  at  the  Castle,  the 
boys  let  off  squibs  and  crackers  in  all  the  streets. 
As  the  lady  in  question  was  walking  up  the  High 
Street,  some  lads  in  a  wynd,  or  narrow  street,  fired  a 
small  cannon,  and  one  of  the  slugs  with  which  it 
was  loaded  hit  her  mouth  and  wounded  her  tongue. 
This  raised  a  universal  laugh  ;  and  no  one  enjoyed 
it  more  than  my  uncle  William,  who  disliked  this 
somewhat  masculine  woman. 

Whilst  at  my  uncle's  house,  I  attended  a  school 
for  writing  and  arithmetic,  and  made  considerable 
progress  in  the  latter,  for  I  liked  it,  but  I  soon  forgot 
it  from  want  of  practice. 

My  uncle  and  aunt  generally  paid  a  visit  to  the 


44  Mary  Somerville. 

Lyells  of  Kinnordy,  the  father  and  mother  of  my 
friend  Sir  Charles  Lyell, '  the  celebrated  geologist ; 
but  this  time  they  accepted  an  invitation  from  Cap- 
tain Wedderburn,  and  took  me  with  them.  Captain 
Wedderburn  was  an  old  bachelor,  who  had  left  the 
army  and  devoted  himself  to  agriculture.  Mounted 
on  a  very  tall  but  quiet  horse,  I  accompanied  my 
host  every  morning  when  he  went  over  his  farm, 
which  was  chiefly  a  grass  farm.  The  house  was 
infested  with  rats,  and  a  masculine  old  maid,  who 
was  of  the  party,  lived  in  such  terror  of  them,  that 
she  had  a  light  in  her  bedroom,  and  after  she 
was  in  bed,  made  her  maid  tuck  in  the  white 
dimity  curtains  all  round.  One  night  we  were 
awakened  by  violent  screams,  and  on  going  to  see 
what  was  the  matter,  we  found  Miss  Cowe  in  the 
middle  of  the  room,  bare-footed,  in  her  night-dress, 
screaming  at  the  top  of  her  voice.  Instead  of  tucking 
the  rats  out  of  the  bed,  the  maid  had  tucked  one 
in,  and  Miss  Cowe  on  waking  beheld  it  sitting  on 
her  pillow. 

*  #  *  #  * 

There  was  great  political  -agitation  at  this  time. 
The  corruption  and  tyranny  of  the  court,  nobility, 
and  clergy  in  France  were  so  great,  that  when  the 
revolution  broke  out,  a  large  portion  of  our  popula- 
tion thought  the  French  people  were  perfectly  justi- 


Politics.  45 

fied  in  revolting,  and  warmly  espoused  their  cause. 
Later  many  changed  their  opinions,  shocked,  as 
every  one  was,  at  the  death  of  the  king  and 
queen,  and  the  atrocious  massacres  which  took  place 
in  France.  Yet  some  not  only  approved  of  the 
revolution  abroad,  but  were  so  disgusted  with  our 
mal-administration  at  home,  to  which  they  attributed 
our  failure  in  the  war  in  Holland  and  elsewhere, 
that  great  dissatisfaction  and  alarm  prevailed 
throughout  the  country.  The  violence,  on  the 
other  hand,  of  the  opposite  party  was  not  to  be 
described, — the  very  name  of  Liberal  was  detested. 

Great  dissensions  were  caused  by  difference  of 
opinion  in  families ;  and  I  heard  people  pre- 
viously much  esteemed  accused  from  this  cause 
of  all  that  was  evil.  My  uncle  William  and  my 
father  were  as  violent  Tories  as  any. 

The  Liberals  were  distinguished  by  wearing  their 
hair  short,  and  when  one  day  I  happened  to  say 
how  becoming  a  crop  was,  and  that  I  wished  the 
men  would  cut  off  those  ugly  pigtails,  my  father 
exclaimed,  "  By  G — ,  when  a  man  cuts  off  his 
queue,  the  head  should  go  with  it." 

The  unjust  and  exaggerated  abuse  of  the  Liberal 
party  made  me  a  Liberal.  From  my  earliest 
years  my  mind  revolted  against  oppression  and 
tyranny,  and  I  resented  the  injustice  of  the  world 


* 
46  Mary  Somerville. 

in  denying  all  those  privileges  of  education 
to  my  sex  which  were  so  lavishly  bestowed  on 
men.  My  liberal  opinions,  both  in  religion  and 
politics,  have  remained  unchanged  (or,  rather,  have 
advanced)  throughout  my  life,  but  I  have  never  been 
a  republican.  I  have  always  considered  a  highly- 
educated  aristocracy  essential,  not  only  for  govern- 
ment, but  for  the  refinement  of  a  people. 

[After  her  winter  in  Edinburgh,  my  mother  returned 
to  Burntisland.  Strange  to  say,  she  found  there,  in  an 
illustrated  Magazine  of  Fashions,  the  introduction  to  the 
great  study  of  her  life. 


I  was  often  invited  with  my  mother  to  the  tea- 
parties  given  either  by  widows  or  maiden  ladies  who 
resided  at  Burntisland.  A  pool  of  commerce  used 
to  be  keenly  contested  till  a  late  hour  at  these 
parties,  which  bored  me  exceedingly,  but  I  there  be- 
came acquainted  with  a  Miss  Ogilvie,  much  younger 
than  the  rest,  who  asked  me  to  go  and  see  fancy 
works  she  was  doing,  and  at  which  she  was  very 
clever.  I  went  next  day,  and  after  admiring  her 
work,  and  being  told  how  it  was  done,  she  showed 
me  a  monthly  magazine  with  coloured  plates  of 
ladies'  dresses,  charades,  and  puzzles.  At  the  end 
of  a  page  I  read  what  appeared  to  me  to  be  simply 
an  arithmetical  question  ;  but  on  turning  the  page  I 


Algebra.  47 

was  surprised  to  see  strange  looking  lines  mixed 
with  letters,  chiefly  X'es  and  Y's,  and  asked ;  "  What 
is  that "? "  "  Oh/'  said  Miss  Ogilvie,  "  it  is  a  kind 
of  arithmetic  :  they  call  it  Algebra ;  but  I  can  tell 
you  nothing  about  it."  And  we  talked  about 
other  things;  but  on  going  home  I  thought  I 
would  look  if  any  of  our  books  could  tell  me  what 
was  meant  by  Algebra. 

In  Eobertson's  "  Navigation  "  I  flattered  myself 
that  I  had  got  precisely  what  I  wanted  ;  but  I  soon 
found  that  I  was  mistaken.  I  perceived,  however, 
that  astronomy  did  not  consist  in  star-gazing,  *  and 
as  I  persevered  in  studying  the  book  for  a  time,  I 
certainly  got  a  dim  view  of  several  subjects  which 
were  useful  to  me  afterwards.  Unfortunately  not  one 
of  our  acquaintances  or  relations  knew  anything  of 
science  or  natural  history ;  nor,  had  they  done  so, 
should  I  have  had  courage  to  ask  any  of  *them  a 
question,  for  I  should  have  been  laughed  at.  I 
was  often  very  sad  and  forlorn;  not  a  hand  held 
out  to  help  me. 

My  uncle  and  aunt  Charters  took  a  house  at  Burnt- 
island  for  the  summer,  and  the  Miss  Melville  I  have 
already  mentioned  came  to  pay  them  a  visit.  She 

*  Many  people  evidently  think  the  science  of  astronomy  consists 
entirely  in  observing  the  stars,  for  I  have  been  frequently  asked  if  I 
passed  my  nights  looking  through  a  telescope,  and  I  have  astonished 
the  enquirers  by  saying  I  did  not  even  possess  one. 


48  Mary  Somerville. 

painted  miniatures,  and  from  seeing  her  at  work,  I 
took  a  fancy  to  learn  to  draw,  and  actually  wasted 
time  in  copying  prints ;  but  this  circumstance  en- 
abled me  to  get  elementary  books  on  Algebra  and 
Geometry  without  asking  questions  of  any  one,  as 
will  be  explained  afterwards.  The  rest  of  the  sum- 
mer I  spent  in  playing  on  the  piano  and  learning 
Greek  enough  to  read  Xenophon  and  part  of  Hero- 
dotus ;  then  we  prepared  to  go  to  Edinburgh. 

My  mother  was  so  much  afraid  of  the  sea  that  she 
never  would  cross  the  Firth  except  in  a  boat  belonging 
to  a  certain  skipper  who  had  served  in  the  Navy  and 
lost  a  hand ;  he  had  a  hook  fastened  on  the  stump 
to  enable  him  to  haul  ropes.  My  brother  and  I  were 
tired  of  the  country,  and  one  sunny  day  we  per- 
suaded my  mother  to  embark.  When  we  came  to 
the  shore,  the  skipper  said,  "I  wonder  that  the 
leddy  b6ats  to-day,  for  though  it  is  calm  here  under 
the  lee  of  the  land,  there  is  a  stiff  breeze  outside." 
We  made  him  a  sign  to  hold  his  tongue,- for  we 
knew  this  as  well  as  he  did.  Our  mother  went 
down  to  the  cabin  and  remained  silent  and  quiet  foi 
a  time ;  but  when  we  began  to  roll  and  be  tossed 
about,  she  called  out  to  the  skipper,  "  George !  this 
is  an  awful  storm,  1  am  sure  we  are  in  great  danger. 
Mind  how  you  steer ;  remember,  I  trust  in  you ! " 
He  laughed,  and  said,  "  Dinna  trust  in  me,  leddy ; 


Painting  Lessons.  49 

trust  in  God  Almighty."  Our  mother,  in  perfect 
terror,  called  out,  "  Dear  me  !  is  it  come  to  that  ?" 
We  burst  out  laughing,  skipper  and  all. 

Nasmyth,  an  exceedingly  good  landscape  painter^ 
had  opened  an  academy  for  ladies  in  Edinburgh,  a 
proof  of  the  gradual  improvement  which  was  taking 
place  in  the  education  of  the  higher  classes;  my 
mother,  very  willingly  allowed  me  to  attend  it.  The 
class  was  very  full.  I  was  not  taught  to  draw,  but 
looked  on  while  Nasmyth  painted ;  then  a  picture 
was  given  me  to  copy,  the  master  correcting  the 
faults.  Though  I  spoilt  canvas,  I  had  made  some 
progress  by  the  end  of  the  season.*  Mr.  Nasmyth, 
besides  being  a  good  artist,  was  clever,  well- 
informed,  and  had  a  great  deal  of  conversation.  One 
day  I  happened  to  be  near  him  while  he  was  talking 
to  the  Ladies  Douglas  about  perspective.  He  said, 
"  You  should  study  Euclid's  Elements  of  Geometry; 
the  foundation  not  only  of  perspective,  but  of  astro- 
nomy and  all  mechanical  science."  Here,  in  the  most 
unexpected  manner,  I  got  the  information  I  wanted, 
for  I  at  once  saw  that  it  would  help  me  to  under- 
stand some  parts  of  Eobertson's  "Navigation;"  but 
as  to  going  to  a  bookseller  and  asking  for  Euclid  the 

*  Nasmyth  told  a  lady  still  alive  who  took  lessons  from  him  in  her 
youth,  that  the  cleverest  young  lady  he  ever  taught  was  Miss  Mary 
Fairfax. 

X 


50  Mary  Somerville. 

thing  was  impossible  !  Besides  I  did  not  yet  know 
anything  definite  about  Algebra,  so  no  more  could 
be  done  at  that  time  ;  but  I  never  lost  sight  of  an 
object  which  had  interested  me  from  the  first. 

I  rose  early,  and  played  four  or  five  hours,  as 
usual,  on  the  piano,  and  had  lessons  from  Corri,  an 
Italian,  who  taught  carelessly,  .and  did  not  correct  a 
habit  I  had  of  thumping  so  as  to  break  the 
strings;  but  I  learned  to  tune  a  piano  and  mend  the 
strings,  as  there  was  no  tuner  at  Burntisland.  After- 
wards I  got  over  my  bad  habit  and  played  the  music 
then  in  vogue  :  pieces  by  Pleyel,  Clementi,  Steibelt, 
Mozart,  and  Beethoven,  the  last  being  my  favourite 
to  this  day.  I  was  sometimes  accompanied  on 
the  violin  by  Mr.  Thomson,  the  friend  of  Burns ; 
more  frequently  by  Stabilini ;  but  I  was  always  too 
shy  to  play  before  people,  and  invariably  played 
badly  when  obliged  to  do  so,  which  vexed  me. 
***** 

The  prejudice  against  the  theatre  had  been  very 
great  in  Scotland,  and  still  existed  among  the  rigid 
Calvinists.  One  day,  when  I  was  fourteen  or  fifteen, 
on  going  into  the  drawing-room,  an  old  man  sitting 
beside  my  mother  rose  and  kissed  me,  saying,  "  I 
am  one  of  your  mother's  oldest  friends."  It  was 
Home,  the  author  of  the  tragedy  of  "  Douglas." 
He  was  obliged  to  resign  his  living  in  the  kirk  for 


Theatres.  5J 

the  scandal  of  having  had  his  play  acted  in  the 
theatre  in  Edinburgh,  and  some  of  his  clerical  friends 
were  publicly  rebuked  for  going  to  see  it.  Our  family 
was  perfectly  liberal  in  all  these  matters.  The  first 
time  I  had  ever  been  in  a  theatre  I  went  with  my 
father  to  see  "  Cymbeline."  I  had  never  neglected 
Shakespeare,  and  when  our  great  tragedians,  Mrs. 
Siddoris  and  her  brother,  John  Kemble,  came  for  a 
short  time  to  act  in  Edinburgh,  I  could  think  of 
nothing  else.  They  were  both  remarkably  hand- 
some, and,  notwithstanding  the  Scotch  prejudice, 
the  theatre  was  crowded  every  night.  It  was  a 
misfortune  to  me  that  my  mother  never  would  go 
into  society  during  the  absence  of  my  father,  nor, 
indeed,  at  any  time,  except,  perhaps,  to  a  dinner 
party;  but  I  had  no  difficulty  in  finding  a  chaperone, 
as  we  knew  many  people.  I  used  to  go  to  the 
theatre  in  the  morning,  and  ask  to  see  the  plan  of 
the  house  for  the  evening,  that  I  might  know  which 
ladies  I  could  accompany  to  their  boxes.  Of 
course  I  paid  for  my  place.  Our  friends  were  so 
kind  that  I  saw  these  great  artists,  as  well  as 
Charles  Kemble,  Young,  and  Bannister,  in  "  Ham- 
let," "Macbeth,"  "Othello,"  "  Coriolanus,"  "The 
Gamester,"  &c. 

It  was  greatly  to  the  honour  of  the  British  stage 

that  all  the  principal  actors,  men  and  women,  were 

x2 


52  Mary  Somervillc 

of  excellent  moral  character,  and  much  esteemed. 
Many  years  afterwards,  when  Mrs.  Siddons  was  an 
old  woman,  I  drank  tea  with  her,  and  heard  her 
read  Milton  and  Shakespeare.  Her  daughter  told  us 
to  applaud,  for  she  had  been  so  much  accustomed  to 
it  in  the  theatre  that  she  could  not  read  with  spirit 
without  this  expression  of  approbation. 

My  mother  was  pleased  with  my  music  and 
painting,  and,  although  she  did  not  go  to  the 
theatre  herself,  she  encouraged  me  to  go.  She  was 
quite  of  the  old  school  with  regard  to  the  duties  of 
women,  and  very  particular  about  her  table ;  and, 
although  we  were  obliged  to  live  with  rigid  economy, 
our  food  was  of  the  best  quality,  well  dressed,  and 
neatly  served,  for  she  could  tell  the  cook  exactly 
what  was  amiss  when  anything  was  badly  cooked. 
She  thought  besides  that  some  of  the  comfort  of 
married  life  depended  upon  the  table,  so  I  was  sent 
to  a  pastrycook  for  a  short  time  every  day,  to  learn 
the  art  of  cookery.  I  had  for  companions  Miss  Mon- 
crejff,  daughter  of  Sir  Henry  Moncreiff  Wellwood, 
a  Scotch  baronet  of  old  family.  She  was  older  than 
I,  pretty,  pleasing,  and  one  of  the  belles  of  the 
day.  We  were  amused  at  the  time,  and  afterwards 
made  jellies  and  creams  for  little  supper  parties, 
then  in  fashion,  though,  as  far  as  economy  went,  we 
might  as  well  have  bought  them. 


Euclid  at  last.  53 

On  returning  to  Burntisland,  I  played  on  the 
piano  as  diligently  as  ever,  and  painted  several 
hours  every  day.  At  this  time,  however,  a  Mr. 
Craw  came  to  live  with  us  as  tutor  to  my  youngest 
brother,  Henry.  He  had  been  educated  for  the 
kirk,  was  a  fair  Greek  and  Latin  scholar,  but, 
unfortunately  for  me,  was  no  mathematician.  He 
was  a  simple,  good-natured  kind  of  man,  and  I 
ventured  to  ask  him  about  algebra  and  geometry, 
and  begged  him,  the  first  time  he  went  to  Edin- 
burgh, to  buy  me  something  elementary  on  these 
subjects,  so  he  soon  brought  me  "Euclid"  and  Bonny- 
castle's  "Algebra,"  which  were  the  books  used  in  the 
schools  at  that  time.  Now  I  had  got  what  I  so 
long  and  earnestly  desired.  I  asked  Mr.  Craw  to 
hear  me  demonstrate  a  few  problems  in  the  first 
book  of  "  Euclid,"  and  then  I  continued  the  study 
alone  with  courage  and  assiduity,  knowing  I  was  on 
the  right  road.  Before  I  began  to  read  algebra  I 
found  it  necessary  to  study  arithmetic  again,  having 
forgotten  much  of  it.  I  never  was  expert  at 
addition,  for,  in  summing  up  a  long  column  of 
pounds,  shillings,  and  pence,  in  the  family  account 
book,  it  seldom  came  out  twice  the  same  way.  In 
after  life  I,  of  course,  used  logarithms  for  the  higher 
branches  of  science. 

I  had  to  take  part  in  the  household  affairs,  and  to 


54  Mary  Somerville. 

make  and  mend  my  own  clothes.  I  rose  early, 
played  on  the  piano,  and  painted  during  the  time 
I  could  spare  in  the  daylight  hours,  but  I  sat  up 
very  late  reading  Euclid.  The  servants,  however, 
told  my  mother  "  It  was  no  wonder  the  stock  of 
candles  was  soon  exhausted,  for  Miss  Mary  sat  up 
reading  till  a  very  late  hour;"  whereupon  an  order 
was  given  to  take  away  my  candle  as  soon  as  I  was 
in  bed.  I  had,  however,  already  gone  through  the 
first  six  books  of  Euclid,  and  now  I  was  thrown 
on  my  memory,  which  I  exercised  by  beginning  at 
the  first  book,  and  demonstrating  in  my  mind  a 
certaLi  number  of  problems  every  night,  till  I  could 
nearly  go  through  the  whole.  My  father  came  home 
for  a  short  time,  and,  somehow  or  other,  finding  out 
what  I  was  about,  said  to  my  mother,  "  Peg,  we 
must  put  a  stop  to  this,  or  we  shall  have  Mary  in 
a  strait  jacket  one  of  these  days.  There  was  X., 
who  went  raving  mad  about  the  longitude !" 
***** 

In  our  younger  days  my  brother  Sam  and  I  kept 
various  festivals :  we  burnt  nuts,  ducked  for  apples, 
and  observed  many  other  of  the  ceremonies  of 
Halloween,  so  well  described  by  Burns,  and  we 
always  sat  up  to  hail  the  new  year  on  New  Year's 
Eve.  When  in  Edinburgh  we  sometimes  disguised 
ourselves  as  "  guisarts,"  and  went  about  with  a  basket 


Christmas  Doings.  55 

full  of  Christmas  cakes  called  buns  and  shortbread, 
and  a  flagon  of  "  het-pint "  or  posset,  to  wish  our 
friends  a  "  Happy  New  Year."  At  Christmas  time  a 
set  of  men,  called  the  Christmas  Wakes,  walked 
slowly  through  the  streets  during  the  midnight 
hours,  playing  our  sweet  Scotch  airs  on  flageolets. 
I  remember  the  sound  from  a  distance  fell  gently 
on  my  sleeping  ear,  swelled  softly,  and  died  away 
in  distance  again,  a  passing  breeze  of  sweet  sound. 
It  was  very  pleasing ;  some  thought  it  too  sad. 

My  grandfather  was  intimate  with  the  Boswells 
of  Balmuto,  a  bleak  place  a  few  miles  to  the  north 
of  Burntisland.  Lord  Balmuto,  a  Scotch  judge, 
who  was  then  proprietor,  had  been  a  dancing  com- 
panion of  my  mother's,  and  had  a  son  and  two 
daughters,  the  eldest  a  nice  girl  of  my  age,  with  whom 
I  was  intimate,  so  I  gladly  accepted  an  invitation  to 
visit  them  at  Balmuto.  Lord  Balmuto  was  a  large 
coarse-looking  man,  with  black  hair  and  beetling 
eyebrows.  Though  not  vulgar,  he  was  passionate, 
and  had  a  boisterous  manner.  My  mother  and  her 
sisters  gave  him  the  nickname  of  the  "  black  bull  of 
Norr'away,"  in'  allusion  to  the  northern  position  of 
Balmuto.  Mrs.  Boswell  was  gentle  and  lady-like. 
The  son  had  a  turn  for  chemistry,  and  his  father  took 
me  to  see  what  they  called  the  Laboratory.  What 
a  laboratory  might  be  I  knew  not,  as  I  had  never 


56  Mary  Somerville. 

heard  the  word  before,  but  somehow  I  did  not  like  the 
look  of  the  curiously-shaped  glass  things  and  other 
apparatus,  so  when  the  son  put  a  substance  on  the 
table,  and  took  a  hammer,  his  father  saying,  "  Now 
you  will  hear  a  fine  report,"  I  ran  out  of  the  room, 
saying,  "  I  don't  like  reports."  Sure  enough  there  was 
a  very  loud  report,  followed  by  a  violent  crash,  and 
on  going  into  the  room  again,  we  found  that  the  son 
had  been  knocked  down,  the  father  was  trembling 
from  head  to  foot,  and  the  apparatus  had  been 
smashed  to  pieces.  They  had  had  a  narrow  escape. 
Miss  Boswell  led  a  dull  life,  often  passing  the 
winter  with  her  mother  in  that  solitary  place, 
Balmuto ;  and  when  in  Edinburgh,  she  was  much 
kept  down  by  her  father,  and  associated  little  with 
people  of  her  own  age  and  station.  The  conse- 
quence was  that  she  eloped  with  her  drawing- 
master,  to  the  inexpressible  rage  and  mortification 
of  her  father,  who  had  all  the  Scotch  pride  of  family 
and  pure  blood. 

This  year  we  remained  longer  in  the  country 
than  usual,  and  I  went  to  spend  Christmas  with 
the  Oswalds  of  Dunnikeir.  The  family  consisted 
of  a  son,  a  colonel  in  the  army,  and  three 
daughters,  the  youngest  about  my  age,  a  bold 
horsewoman.  She  had  talent,  became  a  good 
Greek  and  Latin  scholar,  and  was  afterwards 


The  Oswald  Family.  57 

married  to  the  Earl  of  Elgin.  More  than  seventy 
years  after  this  I  had  a  visit  from  the  Dean  of 
Westminster  and  Lady  Augusta  Stanley,  her 
daughter  ;  a  very  charming  person,  who  told  me 
about  her  family,  of  which  I  had  heard  nothing 
for  years.  I  was  very  happy  to  see  the  Dean,  one 
of  the  most  liberal  and  distinguished  members  of 
the  Church  of  England,  and  son  of  my  old  friend 
the  late  Bishop  of  Norwich. 

***** 

When  I  returned  to  Edinburgh  Mr.  Nasmyth 
was  much  pleased  with  the  progress  I  had  made  in 
painting,  for,  besides  having  copied  several  land- 
scapes he  had  lent  me,  I  had  taken  the  outline 
of  a  print  and  coloured  it  from  a  storm  I  saw  at 
the  end  of  our  garden.  This  picture  I  still  possess. 

Dr.  Blair,  minister  of  the  High  Kirk  of  Edin- 
burgh, the  well-known  author  and  professor  of 
Khetoric  and  Belles  Lettres  in  the  University,  an 
intimate  friend  of  my  grandfather's,  had  heard  of 
my  turn  for  painting,  and  asked  my  mother  to  let 
him  see  some  of  my  pictures.  A  few  of  the  best 
were  sent  to  him,  and  were  returned  after  a  few 
days  accompanied  by  a  long  letter  from  the  old 
gentleman,  pointing  out  what  he  admired  most  in 
each  picture.  I  was  delighted  with  the  letter,  and 
not  a  little  vain  of  the  praise. 


58  Mary  Somerville. 


LETTER   FROM   DR.  BLAIR  TO   MARY   FAIRFAX. 

MY  DEAR  Miss  FAIRFAX, 

This  comes  to  return  you  a  thousand  thanks 
for  the  pleasure  and  entertainment  I  have  had  from  your 
landscape  paintings.  I  had  them  placed  in  the  best 
light  I  could  contrive  in  my  drawing-room,  and  enter- 
tained myself  a  good  while  every  day  looking  at  them 
and  admiring  their  beauties,  which  always  grew  upon  me. 
I  intend  to  return  them  to  you  to-morrow,  or  rather  on 
the  beginning  of  next  week ;  and  as  they  were  taken 
particular  care  of,  I  hope  they  shall  not  appear  to  have 
suffered  any  injury. 

I  have  exhibited  them  to  several  people,  some  of 
whom  were  excellent  judges,  whom  I  brought  on  purpose 
to  view  them — Lady  Miller,  the  Solicitor  and  Mrs.  Blair, 
his  lady,  Dr.  Hill,  Miss  Anne  Ker  of  Nisbet,  and  a 
variety  of  ladies.  All  joined  in  praising  them  highly. 
The  penserosa  figure  caught  the  highest  admiration  of 
any,  from  the  gracefulness  of  the  figure  and  attitude,  and 
the  boldness  and  propriety  of  the  scenery.  The  two 
morning  and  evening  views — one  of  Lochness,  and  the 
other  of  Elcho  Castle — which  make  fine  companions,  and 
which  I  always  placed  together,  were  also  highly  admired. 
Each  of  them  had  their  different  partizaus.  and  I  myself 
was  for  a  good  while  undetermined  which  of  them  to 
prefer.  At  last,  I  found  the  placidity  of  the  scene  in 
Elcho  Castle,  with  the  cottages  among  the  trees,  dwelt 
most  on  my  imagination,  though  the  gaiety  and  brightness 
o  the  morning  sky  in  the  other  has  also  exquisite  beauty. 
On  the  whole,  I  am  persuaded  that  your  taste  and  powers 
of  execution  in  that  art  are  uncommonly  great,  and  that 


Letter  from  Dr.  Blair.  59 

if  you  go  on  you  must  excel  highly,  and  may  go  what 
length  you  please.  Landscape  painting  has  heen  always 
a  great  favourite  with  me ;  and  you  have  really  con- 
tributed much  to  my  entertainment.  As  I  thought  you 
might  wish  to  know  my  sentiments,  after  your  paintings 
had  been  a  little  considered,  I  was  led  to  write  you  these 
lines  (in  which  I  assure  you  there  is  nothing  flattering), 
before  sending  back  your  pieces  to  you.  With  best 
compliments  to  Lady  Fairfax,  believe  me, 

Your  obliged  and  most  obedient  Servant, 

HUGH  BLAIR. 

ARGYLL  SQUARE,  llth  April  (probably)  1796. 

A  day  or  two  after  this  a  Mrs.  Eamsay,  a  rich 
proud  widow,  a  relation  of  my  mother's,  came  with 
her  daughter,  who  was  an  heiress,  to  pay  us  a 
morning  visit.  Looking  round  the  room  she  asked 
who  had  painted  the  pictures  hung  up  on  the 
walls.  My  mother,  who  was  rather  proud  of  them, 
said  they  were  painted  by  me.  "  I  am  glad,"  said 
Mrs.  Eamsay,  "  that  Miss  Fairfax  has  any  kind  of 
talent  that  may  enable  her  to  win  her  bread,  for 
everyone  knows  she  will  not  have  a  sixpence." 
It  was  a  very  severe  hit,  because  it  was  true.  Had 
it  been  my  lot  to  win  my  bread  by  painting,  I  fear 
I  should  have  fared  badly,  but  I  never  should  have 
been  ashamed  of  it ;  on  the  contrary,  I  should  have 
been  very  proud  had  I  been  successful.  I  must 
say  the  idea  of  making  money  had  never  entered 


60  Mary  Somerville. 

my  head  in  any  of  my  pursuits,  but  I  was  in- 
tensely ambitious  to  excel  in  something,  for  I  felt 
in  my  own  breast  that  women  were  capable  of 
taking  a  higher  place  in  creation  than  that  as- 
signed to  them,  in  my  early  days,  which  was , 
very  low. 

Not  long  after  Mrs.  Eamsay's  visit  to  my  mother, 
Miss  Ramsay  went  to  visit  the  Dons,  at  Newton 
Don,  a  pretty  place  near  Kelso.  JVliss  Ramsay  and 
the  three  Miss  Dons  were  returning  from  a  long 
walk ;  they  had  reached  the  park  of  Newton  Don, 
when  they  heard  the  dinner  bell  ring,  and  fearing  to 
be  too  late  for  dinner,  instead  of  going  round,  they 
attempted  to  cross  a  brook  which  runs  through  the 
park.  One  of  the  Miss  Dons  stumbled  on  the 
stepping-stones  and  fell  into  the  water.  Her  two 
sisters  and  Miss  Ramsay,  trying  to  save  her,  fell 
in  one  after  another.  The  three  Miss  Dons  were 
drowned,  but  Miss  Ramsay,  who  wore  a  stiff  worsted 
petticoat,  was  buoyed  up  by  it  and  carried  down 
stream,  where  she  caught  by  the  branch  of  a  tree 
and  was  saved.  She  never  recovered  the  shock  of 
the  dreadful  scene. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

EDINBURGH     SUPPER    PARTIES — TOUR    IN   THE  HIGHLANDS — MUTINY  I» 
THE   FLEET — BATTLE  OF   CAMPERDOWN. 

; 

[By  this  time  my  mother  was  grown  up,  and  extremely 
pretty.  All  those  who  knew  her  speak  of  her  rare  and 
delicate  beauty,  both  of  face  and  figure.  They  called 
her  the  "  Rose  of  Jedwood."  She  kept  her  beauty  to 
the  last  da^  of  her  life,  and  was  a  beautiful  old  woman, 
as  she  had  been  a  lovely  young  one.  She  used  to 
say,  laughing,  that  "  it  was  very  hard  no  one  ever  thought 
of  painting  her  portrait  so  long  as  she  was  young  and 
pretty."  After  she  became  celebrated,  various  like- 
nesses were  taken  of  her,  by  far  the  best  of  which 
are  a  beautiful  bust,  modelled  at  Rome  in  1844  by  Mr. 
Lawrence  Macdonald,  and  a  crayon  drawing  by  Mr. 
James  Swinton,  done  in  London  in  1848.  My  mother 
always  looked  considerably  younger  than  her  age  ;  even 
at  ninety,  she  looked  younger  than  some  who  were 
her  juniors  by  several  years.  This  was  owing,  no  doubt, 
principally  to  her  being  small  and  delicate  in  face  and 
figure,  but  also,  I  think,  to  the  extreme  youthfulness 
and  freshness  of  both  her  heart  and  mind,  neither  of 
which  ever  grew  old.  It  certainly  was  not  due  to  a 
youthful  style  of  dress,  for  she  had  perfect  taste  in  such 
matters,  as  well  as  in  other  things;  and  although  no 


62  Mary  Somerville. 

one  spent  less  thought  or  money  on  it  than  she,  my 
mother  was  at  all  times  both  neatly  and  becomingly 
dressed.  She  never  was  careless  ;  and  her  room,  her 
papers,  and  all  that  belonged  to  her  were  invariably  in 
the  most  beautiful  order.  My  mother's  recollections  of 
this  period  of  her  life  are  as  follows : — 


AT  that  time  Edinburgh  was  really  the  capital  of 
Scotland  ;  most  of  the  Scotch  families  of  distinction 
spent  the  winter  there,  and  we  had  numerous 
acquaintances  who  invited  me  to  whatever  gaiety 
was  going  on.  As  my  mother  refused  to  go  into 
society  when  my  father  was  at  sea,  I  had  to  find  a 
chaperon ;  but  I  never  was  at  a  loss,  for  we  were 
somehow  related  to  the  Erskine  family,  and  the 
Countess  of  Buchan,  an  amiable  old  lady,  was  always 
ready  to  take  charge  of  me. 

It  was  under  Lady  Buchan's  care  that  I  made 
my  first  appearance  at  a  ball,  and  my  first  dancing 
partner  was  the  late  Earl  of  Minto,  then  Mr.  Gilbert 
Elliot,  with  whom  I  was  always  on  very  friendly 
terms,  as  well  as  with  his  family.  Many  other 
ladies  were  willing  to  take  charge  of  me,  but  a 
chaperon  was  only  required  for  the  theatre,  and  con-., 
certs,  and  for  balls  in  the  public  assembly  rooms  ;  at 
private  balls  the  lady  of  the  house  was  thought  suffi- 
cient. Still,  although  I  was  sure  to  know  everybody 
in  the  room,  or  nearly  so,  I  liked  to  have  some  one 


First  Ball.  63 

with  whom  to  enter  and  to  sit  beside.  Few  ladies 
kept  carriages,  but  went  in  sedan  chairs,  of  which 
there  were  stands  in  the  principal  streets.  Ladies 
were  generally  attended  by  a  man-servant,  but  I 
went  alone,  as  our  household  consisted  of  two  maid- 
servants only.  My  mother  knew,  however,  that 
the  Highlanders  who  carried  me  could  be  trusted. 
I  was  fond  of  dancing,  and  never  without  partners, 
and  often  came  home  in  bright  daylight.  The 
dances  were  reels,  country  dances,  and  sometimes 
Sir  Roger  de  Coverley. 

[At  this  period,  although  busily  engaged  in  studying 
painting  at  Nasmyth's  academy,  practising  the  piano  five 
hours  a  da}r,  and  pursuing  her  more  serious  studies 
zealously,  my  mother  went  a  good  deal  into  society,  for 
Edinburgh  was  a  gay,  sociable  place,  and  many  people 
who  recollect  her  at  that  time,,  and  some  who  were  her 
dancing  partners,  have  told  me  she  was  much  admired, 
and  a  great  favourite.  They  said  she  had  a  graceful 
figure,  below  the  middle  size,  a  small  head,  well  set  on 
her  shoulders,  a  beautiful  complexion,  bright,  intelligent 
eyes,  and  a  profusion  of  soft  brown  hair.  Besides  the 
various  occupations  I  have  mentioned,  she  made  all  her 
own  dresses,  even  for  balls.  These,  however,  unlike  the 
elaborate  productions  of  our  da}',  were  simply  of  fine 
India  muslin,  with  a  little  Flanders  lace.  She  says  of 
her  life  in  Edinburgh  : — 


64  Mary  Somerville, 

Girls  had  perfect  liberty  at  that  time  in  Edin- 
burgh :  we  walked  together  in  Princes  Street,  the 

O         y  O 

fashionable  promenade,  and  were  joined  by  our 
dancing  partners.  We  occasionally  gave  little 
supper  parties,  and  presented  these  young  men  to 
our  parents  as  they  came  in.  At  these  meetings 
we  played  at  games,  danced  reels,  or  had  a  little 
music — never  cards.  After  supper  there  were  toasts, 
sentiments,  and  songs.  There  were  always  one  or 
two  hot  dishes,  and  a  variety  of  sweet  things  and 
fruit.  Though  I  was  much  more  at  ease  in  society 
now,  I  was  always  terribly  put  out  when  asked  for 
a  toast  or  a  sentiment.  Like  other  girls,  I  did  not  dis- 
like a  little  quiet  flirtation  ;  but  I  never  could  speak 
across  a  table,  or  take  a  leading  part  in  conversation. 
This  diffidence  was  probably  owing  to  the  secluded 
life  I  led  in  my  early  youth.  At  this  time  I  gladly 
took  part  in  any  gaiety  that  was  going  on,  and  spent 
the  day  after  a  ball  in  idleness  and  gossiping  with  my 
friends  ;  but  these  were  rare  occasions,  for  the  balls 
were  not  numerous,  and  I  never  lost  sight  of  the 
main  object  of  my  life,  which  was  to  prosecute  my 
studies.  So  I  painted  at  Nasmyth's,  played  the 
usual  number  of  hours  on  the  piano,  worked  and 
conversed  with  my  mother  in  the  evening ;  and  as 
we  kept  early  hours,  I  rose  at  day-break,  and  after 
dressing,  I  wrapped  myself  in  a  blanket  from  my 


Relief  from  Study.  65 

bed  on  account  of  the  excessive  cold — having  no 
fire  at  that  hour — and  read  algebra  or  the  classics 
till  breakfast  time.  I  had,  and  still  have,  deter- 
mined perseverance,  but  I  soon  found  that  it  was 
in  vain  to  occupy  my  mind  beyond  a  certain  time. 
I  grew  tired  and  did  more  harm  than  good ;  so,  if  I 
met  with  a  difficult  point,  for  example,  in  algebra, 
instead  of  poring  over  it  till  I  was  bewildered,  I  left 
.it,  took  my  work  or  some  amusing  book,  and  resumed 
it  when  my  mind  was  fresh.  Poetry  was  my  great 
resource  on  these  occasions,  but  at  a  later  period 
I  read  novels,  the  "  Old  English  Baron,"  the 
"Mysteries  of  Udolpho,"  the  "Romance  of  the 
Forest,"  &c.  I  was  very  fond  of  ghost  and  witch 
stories,  both  of  which  were  believed  in  by  most  of 
the  common  people  and  many  of  the  better  educated. 
I  heard  an  old  naval  officer  say  that  he  never  opened 
his  eyes  after  he  was  in  bed.  I  asked  him  why  ? 
and  he  replied,  "For  fear  I  should  see  something  1" 
Now  I  did  not  actually  believe  in  either  ghosts  or 
witches,  but  yet,  when  alone  in  the  dead  of  the 
night,  I  have  been  seized  with  a  dread  of,  I  know 
not  what.  Few  people  will  now  understand  me  if  I 
say  I  was  eerie,  a  Scotch  expression  for  supersti- 
tious awe.  I  have  been  struck,  on  reading  the  life 

*  o 

of  the  late  Sir  David  Brewstcr,  with  the  influence 
the  superstitions  of  the  age  and  country  had   on 


66  Mary  Somerville. 

both  learned  and  unlearned.  Sir  David  was  one  of 
the  greatest  philosophers  of  the  day.  He  was  only  a 
year  younger  than  I ;  we  were  both  born  in  Jed- 
burgh,  and  both  were  influenced  by  the  supersti- 
tions of  our  age  and  country  in  a  similar  manner, 
for  he  confessed  that,  although  he  did  not  believe 
in  ghosts,  he  was  eerie  when  sitting  up  to  a  late 
hour  in  a  lone  house  that  was  haunted.  This  is  a 
totally  different  thing  from  believing  in  spirit- 
rapping,  which  I  scorn. 

We  returned  as  usual  to  Burntisland,  in  spring, 
and  my  father,  who  was  at  home,  took  my  mother 
and  me  a  tour  in  the  Highlands.  I  was  a  great 
admirer  of  Ossian's  poems,  and  viewed  the  grand  and 
beautiful  scenery  with  awe  ;  and  my  father,  who 
was  of  a  romantic  disposition,  smiled  at  my  en- 
thusiastic admiration  of  the  eagles  as  they  soared 
above  the  mountains.  These  noble  birds  are  nearly 
extirpated ;  and,  indeed,  the  feathered  tribes,  which 
were  more  varied  and  numerous  in  Britain  than  in 
any  part  of  Europe,  will  soon  disappear.  They 
will  certainly  be  avenged  by  the  insects. 

On  coming  home  from  the  journey  I  was  quite 
broken-hearted  to  find  my  beautiful  goldfinch,  which 
used  to  draw  its  water  so  prettily  with  an  ivory  cup 
and  little  chain,  dead  in  its  cage.  The  odious 
wretches  of  servants,  to  whose  care  I  trusted  it,  let 


Mutiny  in  the  Fleet.  67 

it  die  of  hunger.     My  heart  is  deeply  pained  as 
I  write  this,  seventy  years  afterwards. 

***** 
In  Fifeshire,  as  elsewhere,  political  opinions 
separated  friends  and  disturbed  the  peace  of 
families ;  discussions  on  political  questions  were 
violent  and  dangerous  on  account  of  the  hard- 
drinking  then  so  prevalent.  At  this  time  the 
oppression  and  cruelty  committed  in  Great  Britain 
were  almost  beyond  endurance.  Men  and  women 
were  executed  for  what  at  the  present  day  would 
only  have  been  held  to  deserve  a  few  weeks' 
or  months'  imprisonment.'"'  Every  liberal  opinion 
was  crushed,  men  were  entrapped  into  the  army 
by  promises  which  were  never  kept,  and  press- 
gangs  tore  merchant  seamen  from  their  families, 
and  forced  them  to  serve  in  the  navy,  where 
they  were  miserably  provided  for.  The  severity 
of  discipline  in  both  services  amounted  to  tor- 
ture. Such  was  the  treatment  of  the  brave  men 
on  whom  the  safety  of  the  nation  depended  !  They 
could  bear  it  no  longer  ;  a  mutiny  broke  out  in  the 
fleet  which  had  been  cruising  off  the  Texel  to  watch 
the  movements  of  a  powerful  Dutch  squadron.  The 

•  The  late  Justice  Coltman  told  us,  when  he  and  Lcdy  Coltman 
came  to  see  my  father  and  mother  at  Siena,  that  he  recollected  when  lie 
first  went  the  circuit  seeing  more  than  twenty  people  hanged  at  once  at 
York,  chiefly  for  hor3e-stealing  and  such  offences. — EDITOK. 

7  2 


68  Mary  Somerville. 

men  rose  against  their  officers,  took  the  command, 
and  ship  after  ship  returned  to  England,  leaving 
only  a  frigate  and  the  "Venerable,"  commanded  by 
Admiral  Duncan,  with  my  father  as  his  flag-captain. 
To  deceive  the  Dutch,  they  continued  to  make 
signals,  as  if  the  rest  of  the  fleet  were  in  the  offing,  till 
they  could  return  to  England  ;  when,  without  delay, 
Admiral  Duncan  and  my  father  went  alone  on  board 
each  ship,  ordered  the  men  to  arrest  the  ringleaders, 
which  was  done,  and  the  fleet  immediately  returned 
to  its  station  off  the  Texel.  At  last,  on  the  morning 
of  the  llth  October,  1797,  the  Dutch  fleet  came  out 
in  great  force,  and  formed  in  line  of  battle  ;  that  is, 
with  their  broadsides  towards  our  ships.  Then 
Admiral  Duncan  said  to  my  father,  "  Fairfax,  what 
shall  we  do  I" — "  Break  their  line,  sir,  and  draw  up 
on  the  other  side,  where  they  will  riot  be  so  well 
prepared." — "  Do  it,  then,  Fairfax."  So  my  father 
signalled  accordingly.  The  circumstances  of  the 
battle,  which  was  nobly  fought  on  both  sides,  are 
historical.  Nine  ships  of  the  line  and  two  frigates 
were  taken,  and  my  father  was  sent  home  to  an- 
nounce the  victory  to  the  Admiralty.  The  rejoicing 
was  excessive ;  every  town  and  village  was  illumi- 
nated ;  and  the  Administration,  relieved  from  the 
fear  of  a  revolution,  continued  more  confidently  its 
oppressive  measures. 


Camperdown.  69 

When  Admiral  Duncan  came  to  London,  he  was 
made  a  Baron,  and  afterwards  Earl  of  Camperdown ; 
and,  by  an  unanimous  vote  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, he  received  a  pension  or  a  sum  of  money,  I 
forget  which  ;  my  father  was  knighted,  and  made- 
Colonel  of  Marines.  Earl  Spencer  was  First  Lord 
of  the  Admiralty  at  the  time,  and  Lady  Spencer 
said  to  my  father,  "  You  ask  for  the  promotion  of 
your  officers,  but  you  never  have  asked  a  reward 
for  yourself/'  He  replied,  "  I  leave  that  to  my 
country."  But  his  country  did  nothing  for  him ; 
and  at  his  death  my  mother  had-  nothing  to  live 
upon  but  the  usual  pension  of  an  Admiral's  widow, 
of  seventy-five  pounds  a-year.  Our  friends,  espe- 
cially Robert  Ferguson,  junior,  of  Raith,  made 
various  attempts  to  obtain  an  addition  to  it ;  but 
it  was  too  late  :  Camperdown  was  forgotten. 

I  remember  one  morning  going  to  Lord  Camper- 
down's  house  in  Edinburgh  with  my  mother,  to  see 
a  very  large  painting,  representing  the  quarter-deck 
of  the  "  Venerable,"  Admiral  Duncan,  as  large  as 
life,  standing  upright,  and  the  Dutch  Admiral,  De 
AVinter,  presenting  his  sword  to  my  father.  Another 
representation  of  the  same  scene  may  be  seen 
among  the  numerous  pictures  of  naval  battles  which 
decorate  the  walls  of  the  great  hall  at  Greenwich 
Hospital.  Many  years  afterwards  I  was  surprised  to 


70  Mary  Somerville. 

see  an  engraving  of  this  very  picture  in  the  public 
library  at  Milan.  I  did  not  know  that  one  existed. 
At  a  great  entertainment  given  to  Lord  Duncan 
by  the  East  India  Company,  then  in  great  power, 
the  President  asked  my  father,  who  sat  at  his  left 
hand,  if  he  had  any  relation  in  India  ?  He  replied, 
"  My  eldest  son  is  in  the  Company's  military  service." 
"Then,"  said  the  President,  "  he  shall  be  a  Writer, 
the  highest  appointment  in  my  power  to  bestow." 
I  cannot  tell  how  thankful  we  were  ;  for,  instead  of 
a  separation  of  almost  a  lifetime,  it  gave  hopes  that 
my  brother  might  make  a  sufficient  fortune  in  a 
few  years  to  enable  him  to  come  home.  There  was 
a  great  review  of  the  troops  at  Calcutta,  under  a 
burning  sun  ;  my  brother  returned  to  the  barracks, 
sun-struck,  where  he  found  his  appointment,  and 
died  that  evening,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one. 
***** 

[My  mother  has  often  told  us  of  her  heart-broken 
parting  with  this  brother  on  his  going  to  India.  It  was 
then  almost  for  a  lifetime,  and  he  was  her  favourite 
brother,  and  the  companion  of  her  childhood.  He  must 
have  been  wonderfully  handsome,  judging  from  a  beauti- 
fully-painted miniature  which  we  have  of  him. 


Public  events  became  more  and  more  exciting 

o 

every  day,  and  difficulties  occurred  at  home.    There 
had   been    bad   harvests,   and   there   was   a   great 


At  Jedburgh.  71 

scarcity  of  bread  ;  the  people  were  much  distressed, 
and  the  manufacturing  towns  in  England  were 
almost  in  a  state  of  revolution  ;  but  the  fear  of 
invasion  kept  them  quiet.  I  gloried  in  the  brilliant 
success  of  our  arms  by  land  and  by  sea ;  and 
although  I  should  have  been  glad  if  the  people 
had  resisted  oppression  at  home,  when  we  were 
threatened  with  invasion,  I  would  have  died  to 
prevent  a  Frenchman  from  landing  on  our  coast. 
No  one  can  imagine  the  intense  excitement  which 
pervaded  all  ranks  at  that  time.  Every  one  was 
armed,  and,  notwithstanding  the  alarm,  we  could 
not  but  laugh  at  the  awkward,  and  often  ridiculous, 
figures  of  our  old  acquaintances,  when  at  drill  in 
uniform.  At  that  time  I  went  to  visit  my  relations 
at  Jedburgh.  Soon  after  my  arrival,  we  were 
awakened  in  the  middle  of  the  night  by  the 
Yeomanry  entering  the  town  at  full  gallop. 
The  beacons  were  burning  on  the  top  of  the 
Cheviots  and  other  hills,  as  a  signal  that  the  French 
had  landed.  When  day  came,  every  preparation 
was  made ;  but  it  was  a  false  alarm. 

The  rapid  succession  of  victories  by  sea  and  land 
was  intensely  exciting.  We  always  illuminated  our 
house,  and  went  to  the  rocky  bank  in  our  southern 
garden  to  see  the  illumination  of  Edinburgh,  Leith, 
and  the  shipping  in  the  Roads,  which  was  iuex- 


72      *  Mary  Somerville. 

pressibly  beautiful,  though  there  was  no  gas  in 
those  times.  It  often  happened  that  balls  were 
given  by  the  officers  of  the  ships  of  war  that  came 
occasionally  to  Leith  Roads,  and  I  was  always 
invited,  but  never  allowed  to  go ;  for  my  mother 
thought  it  foolish  to  run  the  risk  of  crossing  the 
Firth,  a  distance  of  seven  miles,  at  a  late  hour,  in 
a  small  open  boat  and  returning  in  the  morning,  as 
the  weather  was  always  uncertain,  and  the  sea  often 
rough  from  tide  and  wind.  On  one  occasion,  my 
father  was  at  home,  and,  though  it  was  blowing 
hard,  I  thought  he  would  not  object  to  accepting 
the  invitation ;  but  he  said,  "  Were  it  a  matter  of 
duty,  you  should  go,  even  at  the  risk  of  your  life, 
but  for  a  ball,  certainly  not." 

We  were  as  poor  as  ever,  even  more  so ;  for  my 
father  was  led  into  unavoidable  expenses  in  London; 
so,  after  all  the  excitement,  we  returned  to  our 
more  than  usually  economical  life.  No  events  worth 
mentioning  happened  for  a  long  time.  I  continued 
my  diversified  pursuits  as  usual ;  had  they  been 
more  concentrated,  it  would  have  been  better ;  but 
there  was  no  choice  ;  for  I  had  not  the  means  of 
pursuing  any  one  as  far  as  I  could  wish,  nor  had  I 
any  friend  to  whom  I  could  apply  for  direction  or 
information.  I  was  often  deeply  depressed  at 
spending  so  much  time  to  so  little  purpose. 


CHAPTER  V. 

FIRST  MARRIAGE   (1801) — WIDOWHOOD — STUDIES— SECOND  MARRIAGE. 

[Mr.  Samuel  Greig  was  a  distant  relation  of  the 
Charters  family.  His  father,  an  officer  in  the  British 
navy,  had  been  sent  by  our  government,  at  the  request 
of  the  Empress  Catharine,  to  organize  the  Russian  navy. 
Mr.  Greig  came  to  the  Firth  of  Forth  on  board  a  Russian 
frigate,  and  was  received  by  the  Fairfaxes  at  Burntisland 
with  Scotch  hospitality,  as  a  cousin.  He  eventually  mar- 
ried my  mother ;  not,  however,  until  he  had  obtained  the 
Russian  consulship,  and  settled  permanently  in  London, 
for  Russia  was  then  governed  in  the  most  arbitrary  and 
tyrannical  manner,  and  was  neither  a  safe  nor  a  desirable 
residence,  and  my  grandfather  only  gave  his  consent  to 
the  marriage  on  this  condition.  My  mother  says  : — 


MY  cousin,  Samuel  Greig,  commissioner  of  the 
Russian  navy,  and  Russian  consul  for  Britain,  came 
to  pay  us  a  visit,  and  ultimately  became  my  hus- 
band. Fortune  I  had  none,  and  my  mother  could 
only  afford  to  give  me  a  very  moderate  trousseau, 
consisting  chiefly  of  fine  personal  and  household 


74  Mary  Somerville. 

linen.  When  I  was  going  away  she  gave  me 
twenty  pounds  to  buy  a  shawl  or  something  warm 
for  the  following  winter.  I  knew  that  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Academy  of  Painting,  Sir  Arthur  Shee, 
had  painted  a  portrait  of  my  father  immediately 
after  the  battle  of  Camperdown,  and  I  went  to  see 
it.  The  likeness  pleased  me, — the  price  was  twenty 
pounds ;  so  instead  of  a  warm  shawl  I  bought  my 
father's  picture,  which  I  have  since  given  to  my 
nephew,  Sir  William  George  Fairfax.  My  husband's 
brother,  Sir  Alexis  Greig,  who  commanded  the 
Kussian  naval  force  in  the  Black  Sea  for  more  than 
twenty  years,  came  to  London  about  this  time,  and 
gave  me  some  furs,  which  were  very  welcome.  Long 
after  this,  I  applied  to  Sir  Alexis,  at  the  request 
of  Dr.  Whewell,  Master  of  Trinity  College,  Cam- 
bridge, and  through  his  interest  an  order  was 
issued  by  the  Eussian  Government  for  simultaneous 
observations  to  be  made  of  the  tides  on  every 
sea-coast  of  the  empire. 

LETTER  FROM  DR.  WHEWELL  TO  MRS.  SOMERVILLE. 

UNIVERSITY  CLUB,  Jan.  5,  1838. 

MY  DEAR  MBS.  SOMERVILLE, 

I  enclose  a  memorandum  respecting  tide 
observations,  to  which  subject  I  am  desirous  of  drawing 
the  attention  of  the  Eussian  Government.  Nobody 
knows  better  than  you  do  how  much  remains  to  be  done 


First  Marriage.  75 

respecting  the  tides,  and  what  important  results  any 
advance  in  that  subject  would  have.  I  hope,  through 
your  Russian  friends,  you  may  have  the  means  of 
bringing  this  memorandum  to  the  notice  of  the  adminis- 
tration of  their  navy,  so  as  to  lead  to  some  steps  being 
taken,  in  the  way  of  directing  observations  to  be 
made.  The  Russian  Government  has  shown  so  much 
zeal  in  promoting  science,  that  I  hope  it  will  not  be 
difficult  to  engage  them  in  a  kind  of  research  so  easy, 
so  useful  practically,  and  so  interesting  in  its  theoretical 
bearing. 

Believe  me,  dear  Mrs.  Somerville, 
Very  faithfully  yours, 

W.  WHEWELL. 


My  husband  had  taken  me  to  his  bachelor's  house 
in  London,  which  was  exceedingly  small  and  ill 
ventilated.  I  had  a  key  of  the  neighbouring  square, 
where  I  used  to  walk.  I  was  alone  the  whole  of  the 
day,  so  I  continued  my  mathematical  and  other 
pursuits,  but  under  great  disadvantages;  for  although 
my  husband  did  not  prevent  me  from  studying,  I 
met  with  no  sympathy  whatever  from  him,  as  he 
had  a  very  low  opinion  of  the  capacity  of  my  sex, 
and  had  neither  knowledge  of  nor  interest  in  science 
of  any  kind.  I  took  lessons  in  French,  and  learnt 
to  speak  it  so  as  to  be  understood.  I  had  no  car- 
riage, so  went  to  the  nearest  church;  but,  accus- 


76  Mary  Somerville. 

tomed  to  our  Scotch  Kirk,  I  never  could  sympathise 
with  the  coldness  and  formality  of  the  service  of  the 
Church  of   England.     However,  I  thought  it  my. 
duty  to  go  to  church  and  join  where  I  could  in 
prayer  with  the  congregation. 

There  was  no  Italian  Opera  in  Edinburgh ;  the 
first  time  I  went  to  one  was  in  London  as  chaperone 
to  Countess  Catharine  Woronzow,  afterwards  Coun- 
tess of  Pembroke,  who  was  godmother  to  my  eldest 
son.  I  sometimes  spent  the  evening  with  her,  and 
occasionally  dined  at  the  embassy ;  but  went  nowhere 
else  till  we  became  acquainted  with  the  family  of 
Mr.  Thomson  Bonar,  a  rich  Russian  merchant,  who 
lived  in  great  luxury  at  a  beautiful  villa  at  Chisel- 
hurst,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  London,  which  has 
since  become  the  refuge  of  the  ex- Emperor  Napoleon 
the  Third  and  the  Empress  Eugenie.  The  family 
consisted  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bonar, — kind,  excellent 
people, — with  two  sons  and  a  daughter,  all  grown 
up.  We  were  invited  from  time  to  time  to  spend 
ten  days  or  a  fortnight  with  them,  which  I  enjoyed 
exceedingly.  I  had  been  at  a  riding  school  in 
Edinburgh,  and  rode  tolerably,  but  had  little  prac- 
tice, as  we  could  not  afford  to  keep  horses.  On  our 
first  visit,  Mrs.  Bonar  asked  me  if  I  would  ride  with 
her,  as  there  was  a  good  lady's  horse  to  spare,  but  I 
declined.  Next  day  I  said,  "  I  should  like  to  ride 


The  Bonars.  77 

with  you."  "  Why  did  you  not  go  out  with  me 
yesterday  ? "  she  asked.  "  Because  I  had  heard  so 
much  of  English  ladies'  riding,  that  I  thought  you 
would  clear  all  the  hedges  and  ditches,  and  that  I 
should  be  left  behind  lying  on  the  ground/'  I  spent 
many  pleasant  days  with  these  dear  good  people ; 
and  no  words  can  express  the  horror  I  felt  when  we 
heard  that  they  had  been  barbarously  murdered  in 
their  bedroom.  The  eldest  son  and  daughter  had 
been  at  a  ball  somewhere  near,  and  on  coming  home 
they  found  that  one  of  the  men-servants  had  dashed 
out  the  brains  of  both  their  parents  with  a  poker. 
The  motive  remains  a  mystery  to  this  day,  for  it  was 
not  robbery. 


[After  three  years  of  married  life,  iny  mother  returned 
to  her  father's  house  in  Burntisland,  a  widow,  with  two 
little  boys.  The  youngest  died  in  childhood.  The  eldest 
was  Woronzow  Greig,  barrister-at-law,  late  Clerk  of 
the  Peace  for  Surrey.  He  died  suddenly  in  1865,  to 
the  unspeakable  sorrow  of  his  family,  and  the  regret  of 
all  who  knew  him. 


I  was  much  out  of  health  after  my  husband's 
death,  and  chiefly  occupied  with  my  children, 
especially  with  the  one  I  was  nursing ;  but  as 


78  Mary  Somerville. 

I  did  not  go  into  society,  I  rose  early,  and, 
having  plenty  of  time,  I  resumed  my  mathe- 
matical studies.  By  this  time  I  had  studied 
plane  and  spherical  trigonometry,  conic  sections,  and 
Fergusson's  "Astronomy."  I  think  it  was  imme- 
diately after  my  retura  to  Scotland  that  I  attempted 
to  read  Newton's  "  Principia."  I  found  it  extremely 
difficult,  and  certainly  did  not  understand  it  till 
I  returned  to  it  some  time  after,  when  I  studied 
that  wonderful  work  with  great  assiduity,  and  wrote 
numerous  notes  and  observations  on  it.  I  obtained 
a  loan  of  what  I  believe  was  called  the  Jesuit's 
edition,  which  helped  me.  At  this  period  mathe- 
matical science  was  at  a  low  ebb  in  Britain;  reverence 
for  Newton  had  prevented  men  from  adopting  the 
"Calculus,"  which  had  enabled  foreign  mathema- 
ticians to  carry  astronomical  and  mechanical  science 
to  the  highest  perfection.  Professors  Ivory  and 
de Morgan  had  adopted  the  "  Calculus";  but  several 
years  elapsed  before  Mr.  Herschel  and  Mr.  Babbage 
were  joint-editors  with  Professor  Peacock  in  pub- 
lishing an  abridged  translation  of  La  Croix's 
"Treatise  on  the  Differential  and  Integral  Cal- 
culus." I  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Wallace, 
who  was,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  mathematical 
teacher  of  the  Military  College  at  Mario w,  and 
editor  of  a  mathematical  journal  published  there. 


Mathematics.  79 

I  had  solved  some  of  the  problems  contained  in 
it  and  sent  them  to  him,  which  led  to  a  corres- 
pondence, as  Mr.  Wallace  sent  me  his  own  solutions 
in  return.  Mine  were  sometimes  right  and  some- 
times wrong,  and  it  occasionally  happened  that  we 
solved  the  same  problem  by  different  methods.  At 
last  I  succeeded  in  solving  a  prize  problem  !  It  was 
a  diophantine  problem,  and  I  was  awarded  a  silver 
medal  cast  on  purpose  with  my  name,  which  pleased 
me  exceedingly. 

Mr.  Wallace  was  elected  Professor  of  Mathematics 
in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  and  was  very  kind 
to  me.  When  I  told  him  that  I  earnestly  desired 
to  go  through  a  regular  course  of  mathematical  and 
astronomical  science,  even  including  the  highest 
branches,  he  gave  me  a  list  of  the  requisite  books, 
which  were  in  French,  and  consisted  of  Francceur's 
pure  "  Mathematics,"  and  his  "  Elements  of  Me- 
chanics," La  Croix's  "  Algebra,"  and  his  large  work 
on  the  "  Differential  and  Integral  Calculus,"  together 
with  his  work  on  "  Finite  Differences  and  Series," 
Biot's  "Analytical  Geometry  and  Astronomy," 
Poisson's  "Treatise  on  Mechanics,"  La  Grange's 
"Theory  of  Analytical  Functions,"  Euler's  "Algebra," 
Euler's  "  Isoperimetrical  Problems"  (in  Latin),  Clair- 
ault's  "  Figure  of  the  Earth,"  Monge's  "  Application 
of  Analysis  to  Geometry,"  Callet's  "Logarithms," 


80  Mary  Somerville. 

La  Place's  "Mecanique  Celeste,"  and  his  "Ana- 
lytical Theory  of  Probabilities,"  &c.,  &c.,  &c.* 

I  was  thirty-three  years  of  age  when  I  bought  this 
excellent  little  library.  I  could  hardly  believe  that  I 
possessed  such  a  treasure  when  I  looked  back  on  the 
day  that  I  first  saw  the  mysterious  word  "Algebra," 
and  the  long  course  of  years  in  which  I  had  perse- 
vered almost  without  hope.  It  taught  me  never  to 
despair.  I  had  now  the  means,  and  pursued  my 
studies  with  increased  assiduity ;  concealment  was 
no  longer  possible,  nor  was  it  attempted.  I  was 
considered  eccentric  and  foolish,  and  my  conduct 
was  highly  disapproved  of  by  many,  especially  by 
some  members  of  my  own  family,  as  will  be  seen 
hereafter.  They  expected  me  to  entertain  and  keep 
a  gay  house  for  them,  and  in  that  they  were  disap- 
pointed. As  I  was  quite  independent,  I  did  not 
care  for  their  criticism.  A  great  part  of  the  day  I 
was  occupied  with  my  children  ;  in  the  evening  1 
worked,  played  piquet  with  my  father,  or  played  on 
the  piano,  sometimes  with  violin  accompaniment. 
***** 

This  was  the  most  brilliant  period  of  the  Edin- 
burgh Review ;   it  was  planned  and  conducted  with 

*  These  books  and  all  the  other  mathematical  works  belonging  to  my 
mother  at  the  time  of  her  death  have  been  presented  to  the  College  for 
Women,  at  Girton,  Cambridge. 


The  Edinburgh  Review.  81 

consummate  talent  by  a  small  society  of  men  of  tne 
most  liberal  principles.  Their  powerful  articles  gave 
a  severe  and  lasting  blow  to  the  oppressive  and 
illiberal  spirit  which  had  hitherto  prevailed.  I  be- 
came acquainted  with  some  of  these  illustrious  men, 
and  with  many  of  their  immediate  successors.  I. 
then  met  Henry  Brougham,  who  had  so  remarkable 
an  influence  on  my  future  life.  His  sister  had  been 
my  early  companion,  and  while  visiting  her  I  saw 
her  mother — a  fine,  intelligent  old  lady,  a  niece  of 
Robertson  the  historian.  I  had  seen  the  Rev.  Sydney 
Smith,  that  celebrated  wit  and  able  contributor  to 
the  Review,  at  Buratisland,  where  he  and  his  wife 
came  for  sea-bathing.  Long  afterwards  we  lived 
on  the  most  friendly  terms  till  their  deaths.  Of 
that  older  group  no  one  was  more  celebrated  than 
Professor  Playfair.  He  knew  that  I  was  reading  the 
"  Mecanique  Celeste/'  and  asked  me  how  I  got  on  ? 
I  told  him  that  I  was  stopped  short  by  a  difficulty 
now  and  then,  but  I  persevered  till  I  got  over  it. 
He  said,  "  You  would  do  better  to  read  on  for  a  few 
pages  and  return  to  it  again,  it  will  then  no  longer 
seem  so  difficult."  I  invariably  followed  his  advice 
and  with  much  success. 

Professor  Playfair  was  a  man  of  the  most  varied 
accomplishments  and  of  the  highest  scientific  dis- 
tinction. He  was  an  elderly  man  when  I  first 


82  Mary  Somerville. 

became  acquainted  with  him,  by  no  means  good- 
looking,  but  with  a  benevolent  expression,  somewhat 
concealed  by  the  large  spectacles  he  always  wore. 
His  manner  was  gravely  cheerful ;  he  was  perfectly 
amiable,  and  was  both  respected  and  loved,  but  he 
could  be  a  severe  though  just  critic.  He  liked 
female  society,  and,  philosopher  as  he  was,  marked 
attention  from  the  sex  obviously  flattered  him. 

I  had  now  read  a  good  deal  on  the  higher  branches 
of  mathematics  and  physical  astronomy,  but  as  I 
never  had  been  taught,  I  was  afraid  that  I  might 
imagine  that  I  understood  the  subjects  when  I  really 
did  not ;  so  by  Professor  Wallace's  advice  I  engaged 
his  brother  to  read  with  me,  and  the  book  I  chose 
to  study  with  him  was  the '  *  Me*  canique  Celeste. "  Mr. 
John  Wallace  was  a  good  mathematician,  but  I  soon 
found  that  I  understood  the  subject  as  well  as  he 
did.  I  was  glad,  however,  to  have  taken  this  resolu- 
tion, as  it  gave  me  confidence  in  myself  and  conse- 
quently courage  to  persevere.  We  had  advanced 
but  little  in  this  work  When  my  marriage  with  my 
cousin,  William  Somerville  (1812),  put  an  end  to 
scientific  pursuits  for  a  time. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SOMERVILLE  FAMILY  —  DR.  SOMERVILLE's  CHARACTER  —  LETTERS  — 
JOURNEY  TO  THE  LAKES— DEATH  OP  SIR  WILLIAM  FAIRFAX — 
REMINISCENCES  OF  SIR  WALTER  SCOTT. 

[With  regard  to  my  father's  family,  I  cannot  do  better 
than  quote  what  my  grandfather,  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Somerville,  says  in  his  "  Life  and  Times  "  : — "  I  am  a 
descendant  of  the  ancient  family  of  Somerville  of  Cam- 
busnethan,  which  was  a  branch  of  the  Somervilles  of 
Drum,  ennobled  in  the  year  1424.  Upon  the  death  of 
George  Somerville,  of  Corhouse,  fifty  years  ago,  I  became 
the  only  male  representative  of  the  family."  There  is  a 
quaint  old  chronicle,  entitled  "Meniorie  of  the  Somer- 
villes," written  by  James,  eleventh  Lord  Somerville,  who 
died  in  1690,  which  was  printed  for  private  distribution, 
and  edited  by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  and  gives  ample  details 
of  all  the  branches  of  our  family.  Although  infinitely 
too  prolix  for  our  nineteenth  century  ideas,  it  contains 
many  curious  anecdotes  and  pictures  of  Scottish  life. 

My  father  was  the  eldest  son  of  the  minister  of  Jed- 
burgh,  and  until  his  marriage  with  my  mother,  had  lived 
almost  entirely  abroad  and  in  our  colonies.  It  was 
always  a  subject  of  regret  to  my  mother  that  my  father 
never  could  be  induced  to  publish  an  account  of  his  im- 
portant travels  in  South  Africa,  for  which  he  had  ample 

o  2 


84  Mary  Somerville. 

materials  in  the  notes  he  brought  home,  many  of  which 
we  still  possess.  Without  being  very  deeply  learned 
on  any  one  special  subject,  he  was  generally  well- 
informed,  and  very  intelligent.  He  was  an  excellent 
classical  scholar,  and  could  repeat  long  passages  from 
Horace  and  other  authors.  He  had  a  lively  interest  in 
all  branches  of  natural  history,  was  a  good  botanist  and 
mineralogist,  and  could  take  note  of  all  the  strange 
animals,  plants,  or  minerals  he  saw  in  his  adventurous 
journies  in  the  countries,  now  colonized,  but  then  the 
hunting-grounds  of  Caffres  and  other  uncivilised  tribes. 
He  was  the  first  white  man  who  penetrated  so  far  into 
the  country,  and  it  was  not  without  great  risk.  Indeed, 
on  one  occasion  he  was  sentenced  to  death  by  a  Caffre 
chief,  and  only  saved  by  the  interposition  of  the  chief's 
mother. 

My  father's  style  in  writing  English  was  singularly 
pure  and  correct,  and  he  was  very  fastidious  on  this 
topic — a  severe  critic,  whether  in  correcting  the  chil- 
dren's lessons  or  in  reading  over  the  last  proof  sheets  of 
my  mother's  works  previous  to  their  publication.  These 
qualities  would  have  fitted  him  very  well  to  write  the 
history  of  his  travels,  but  he  disliked  the  trouble  of  it, 
and,  never  having  the  slightest  ambition  on  his  own 
account,  he  let  the  time  for  publication  slip  by.  Others 
travelled  over  the  country  he  first  explored,  and  the 
novelty  was  at  an  end.  He  was  far  happier  in  helping 
my  mother  in  various  wa}rs,  searching  the  libraries  for 
the  books  she  required,  indefatigably  copying  and  re- 
copying  her  manuscripts,  to  save  her  time.  No  trouble 
seemed  too  great  which  he  bestowed  upon  her ;  it  was  a 
labour  of  love.  My  father  was  most  kindhearted,  and 
I  have  often  heard  my  mother  say  how  many  persons  he 


Dr.  Somervilles  Character.  85 

had  assisted  in  life,  and  what  generous  actions  he  had 
done,  many  of  them  requited  with  ingratitude,  and  with 
betrayal  of  confidence.  From  the  way  my  mother  speaks 
of  their  life,  it  can  be  seen  how  happy  was  their  marriage 
and  how  much  sympathy  there  was  between  them. 
Speaking  of  his  son's  marriage  with  my  mother,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Somerville  says,  in  his  "  Life  and  Times,"  page  390  : 
"  To  myself  this  connection  was  on  every  account  pecu- 
liarly gratifying.  Miss  Fairfax  had  been  born  and  nursed 
in  my  house ;  her  father  being  at  that  time  abroad  on 
public  service.  She  afterwards  often  resided  in  my 
family,  was  occasionally  my  scholar,  and  was  looked 
upon  by  me  and  my  wife  as  if  she  had  been  one  of  our 
own  children.  I  can  truly  say,  that  next  to  them  she 
was  the  object  of  our  most  tender  regard.  Her  'ardent 
thirst  for  knowledge,  her  assiduous  application  to  study, 
and  her  eminent  proficiency  in  science  and  the  fine 
arts,  have  procured  her  a  celebrity  rarely  obtained 
by  any  of  her  sex.  But  she  never  displays  any  pre- 
tensions to  superiority,  while  the  affability  of  her 
temper,  and  the  gentleness  of  her  manners  afford  con- 
stant sources  of  gratification  to  her  friends.  But  what, 
above  all  other  circumstances,  rendered  my  son's  choice 
acceptable  to  me,  was  that  it  had  been  the  anxious, 
though  secret,  desire  of  my  dear  wife."  I  have  already 
said  that  this  esteem  and  affection  of  her  father-in-law 
was  warmly  responded  to  by  my  mother.  The  following 
letter  from  her  to  him  shows  it  vividly : — 


86  Mary  Somerville. 


LETTER    FEOM   MES.  SOMEEVILLE  TO   THE 
EEV.  DR.  SOMERVILLE. 

EDINBUEGH,  1st  June,  1812. 
MY  DEAE  SIR, 

I  have  this  moment  been  gratified  and  de- 
lighted with  your  excellent  and  affectionate  letter ;  the 
intercourse  we  have  so  long  enjoyed  has  always  been  a 
source  of  the  purest  pleasure  to  me,  and  the  kind  interest 
you  have  taken  from  my  infancy  in  my  welfare  was  at  all 
times  highly  flattering,  and  much  valued ;  but  now  that 
the  sacred  name  of  Father  is  added,  nothing  is  wanting 
to  complete  my  happiness ;  and  you  may  rest  assured 
that  William  is  not  more  anxious  to  hasten  our  visit  to 

Jedburgh  than  I  am With  the  affectionate 

love  of  all  here, 

I  remain  your  ever  most  affectionate  daughter, 
MARY  SOMERVILLE. 

P.S. — I  am  much  flattered  by  the  Latin  quotation, 
and  feel  happy  that  your  instructions  have  enabled  me  to 
read  it. 


[I  will  now  proceed  with  the  extracts  from  my  mother's 
.Recollections : — 


My  husband  had  been  present  at  the  taking  of  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  was  sent  by  the  authorities 
to  make  a  treaty  with  the  savage  tribes  on  the 
borders  of  the  colony,  who  had  attacked  the  boors, 
or  Dutch  farmers,  and  carried  off  their  cattle.  In 


A  Happy  Daiighter-in-Law.  87 

this  journey  lie  was  furnished  with  a  waggon  and 
accompanied  by  Mr.  Daniel,  a  good  artist,  who  made 
drawings  of  the  scenery,  as  well  as  of  the  animals 
and  people.  The  savage  tribes  again  became 
troublesome,  and  in  a  second  expedition  my  cousin 
was  only  accompanied  by  a  faithful  Hottentot  as 
interpreter.  They  were  both  mounted,  and  each  led 
a  spare  horse  with  such  things  as  were  absolutely 
necessary,  and  when  they  bivouacked  where,  for  fear 
of  the  natives,  they  did  not  dare  light  a  fire  to  keep 
off  the  wild  beasts,  one  kept  watch  while  the  other 
slept.  After  many  adventures  and  dangers,  my 
husband  reached  the  Orange  River,  and  was  the  first 
white  man  who  had  ever  been  in  that  part  of  Africa. 
He  afterwards  served  in  Canada  and  in  Sicily  at  the 
head  of  the  medical  staff,  under  his  friend  General 
Sir  James  Craig.  On  returning  to  England  he 
generally  lived  in  London,  so  that  he  was  seldom 
with  his  family,  with  whom  he  was  not  a  favourite 
on  account  of  his  liberal  principles,  the  very  circum- 
stance that  was  an  attraction  to  me.  He  had  lived 
in  the  world,  was  extremely  handsome,  had  gentle- 
manly manners,  spoke  good  English,  and  was  emanci- 
pated from  Scotch  prejudices. 

I  had  been  living  very  quietly  with  my  parents 
and  children,  so  until  I  was  engaged  to  my  cousin 
I  was  not  aware  of  the  extreme  severity  with  which 


88  Mary  Somerville. 

my  conduct  was  criticised  by  his  family,  and  I  have 
no  doubt  by  many  others  ;  for  as  soon  as  our  en- 
gagement was  known  I  received  a  most  impertinent 
letter  from  one  of  his  sisters,  who  was  unmarried, 
and  younger  than  I,  saying,  she  "hoped  I  would 
give  up  my  foolish  manner  of  life  and  studies,  and 
make  a  respectable  and  useful  wife  to  her  brother." 
I  was  extremely  indignant.  My  husband  was  still 
more  so,  and  wrote  a  severe  and  angry  letter  to 
her;  none  of  the  family  dared  to  interfere  again. 
I  lived  in  peace  with  her,  but  there  was  a  coldness 
and  reserve  between  us  ever  after.  I  forgot  to 
mention  that  during  my  widowhood  I  had  several 
offers  of  marriage.  One  of  the  persons  whilst  he 
was  paying  court  to  me,  sent  me  a  volume  of  ser- 
mons with  the  page  ostentatiously  turned  down  at  a 
sermon  on  the  Duties  of  a  Wife,  which  were  expa- 
tiated upon  in  the  most  illiberal  and  narrow-minded 
language.  I  thought  this  as  impertinent  as  it  was 
premature  ;  sent  back  the  book  and  refused  the 
proposal. 

My  uncle,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Somerville,  was  delighted 
with  my  marriage  with  his  son,  for  he  was  liberal,  arid 
sincerely  attached  to  me.  We  were  married  by  his 
intimate  friend,  Sir  Henry  Moncreiff  Wellwood,  and 
set  off  for  the  lakes  in  Cumberland.  My  husband's 
second  sister,  Janet,  resolved  to  go  with  us,  and  she 


Journey  to  the  Lakes.  89 

succeeded  through  the  influence  of  my  aunt,  now 
my  mother-in-law — a  very  agreeable,  but  bold,  de- 
termined person,  who  was  always  very  kind  and 
sincerely  attached  to  me.  We  were  soon  followed 
by  my  cousin,  Samuel  Somerville  and  his  wife.  We 
had  only  been  a  day  or  two  in  the  little  inn  at 
Lowood  when  he  was  taken  ill  of  a  fever,  which  de- 
tained us  there  for  more  than  a  month.  During  his 
illness  he  took  a  longing  for  currant  jelly,  and  here 
my  cookery  was  needed  ;  I  made  some  that  was  ex- 
cellent, and  I  never  can  forget  the  astonishment  ex- 
pressed at  my  being  able  to  be  so  useful. 

Somerville  and  I  proceeded  to  London ;  and 
we  managed  to  obtain  a  good  position  near  Tem- 
ple Bar  to  see  the  Emperor  of  Eussia,  the  King 
of  Prussia  and  his  sons,  Blucher,  Platoff,  the  Het- 
man  of  the  Cossacks,  &c,,  &c.,  enter  the  City.  There 
was  a  brilliant  illumination  in  the  evening,  and 
great  excitement.  We  often  saw  these  noted  persons 
afterwards,  but  we  did  not  stay  long  in  London,  as 
my  husband  was  appointed  head  of  the  Army  Medi- 
cal Department  in  Scotland,  so  we  settled  in  Edin- 
burgh. As  he  was  allowed  to  have  a  secretary,  he 
made  choice  of  Donald  Finlayson,  a  young  man  of 
great  learning  and  merit,  who  was  to  act  as  tutor 
to  my  son,  Woronzow  Greig,  then  attending  the 
High  School,  of  which  Mr.  Pillans  was  master.  Mr. 


90  Mary  Somerville. 

Finlayson  was  a  remarkably  good  Greek  scholar,  and 
my  husband  said,  "  Why  not  take  advantage  of  such 
an  opportunity  of  improvement  ?"  So  I  read  Homer 
for  an  hour  every  morning  before  breakfast  Mr. 
Finlayson  joined  the  army  as  surgeon,  and  distin- 
guished himself  by  his  courage  and  humanity  during 
the  battle  of  Waterloo  ;  but  he  was  lost  in  the  march 
of  the  army  to  Paris,  and  his  brother  George,  after 
having  sought  for  him  in  vain,  came  to  live  with 
us  in  his  stead.  He  excelled  in  botany,  and  here 
again,  by  my  husband's  advice,  I  devoted  a  morning 
hour  to  that  science,  though  I  was  nursing  a  baby  at 
the  time.  I  knew  the  vulgar  name  of  most  of  the 
plants  that  Mr.  Finlayson  had  gathered,  but  now  I 
was  taught  systematically,  and  afterwards  made  a 
herbarium,  both  of  land  plants  and  fuci.  This 
young  man's  hopeful  career  was  early  arrested  by 
nis  love  of  science,  for  he  died  of  jungle  fever  in 
Bengal,  caught  while  in  search  of  plants. 

Professor  Play  fair  was  now  -old,  and  resigned  his 
chair,  which  Mr.  Leslie  was  perfectly  competent  to 
fill  on  account  of  his  acknowledged  scientific  acquire- 
ments ;  but,  being  suspected  of  heretical  opinions,  his 
appointment  was  keenly  opposed,  especially  on  the 
part  of  the  clergy,  and  a  violent  contest  arose,  which 
ended  in  his  favour.  We  became  acquainted  with 
him  and  liked  him.  He  was  a  man  of  original  genius, 


Professor  Leslie.  91 

full  of  information  on  a  variety  of  subjects,  agree- 
able in  conversation  and  good  natured,  but  with  a 
singular  vanity  as  to  personal  appearance.  Though 
one  of  the  coarsest  looking  men  I  ever  knew,  he 
talked  so  much  of  polish  and  refinement  that  it 
tempted  Mr.  William  Olerk,  of  Eldin,  to  make  a 
very  clever  clay  model  of  his  ungainly  figure.  The 
professor's  hair  was  grey,  and  he  dyed  it  with  some- 
thing that  made  it  purple.;  and,  as  at  that  time  the 
art  was  not  brought  to  its  present  perfection,  the 
operation  was  tedious  and  only  employed  at  inter- 
vals, so  that  the  professor's  hair  was  often  white  at 
the  roots  and  dark  purple  at  the  extremities.  He 
was  always  falling  in  love,  and,  to  Somerville's  inex- 
pressible amusement,  he  made  me  his  decoy  duck, 
inviting  me  to  see  some  experiments,  which  he  per- 
formed dexterously  ;  at  the  same  time  telling  me  to 
bring  as  many  young  ladies  as  I  chose,  especially 

Miss  ,   for   he  was  sure  she    had   a  turn  for 

science.  He  was  unfortunate  in  his  aspirations,  and 
remained  a  bachelor  to  the  end  of  his  life. 

***** 

It  was  the  custom  in  Edinburgh,  especially  among 
the  clergy,  to  dine  between  the  morning  and  even- 
ing service  on  Sundays,  and  to  sup  at  nine  or  ten 
o'clock.  In  no  family  were  these  suppers  more  agree- 
able or  cheerful  than  in  that  of  Sir  Henry  Moncreiff 


92  Mary  Somerville. 

Wellwood,  minister  of  the  West  Kirk.  There  were 
always  a  few  of  the  friends  of  Sir  Henry  and  Lady 
Moncreiff  present,  and  we  were  invited  occasionally. 
There  was  a  substantial  hot  supper  of  roasted  fowls, 
game,  or  lamb,  and  afterwards  a  lively,  animated 
conversation  on  a  variety  of  subjects,  without  a  shade 
of  austerity,  though  Sir  Henry  was  esteemed  an 
orthodox  preacher. 

There  was  an  idiot  in,  Edinburgh,  the  son  of  a 
respectable  family,  who  had  a  remarkable  memory. 
He  never  failed  to  go  to  the  Kirk  on  Sunday,  and 
on  returning  home  could  repeat  the  sermon  word 
for  word,  saying,  Here  the  minister  coughed,  Here 
he  stopped  to  blow  his  nose.  During  the  tour 
we  made  in  the  Highlands  we  met  with  another 
idiot  who  knew  the  Bible  so  perfectly  that  if  you 
asked  him  where  such  a  verse  was  to  be  found, 
he  could  tell  without  hesitation,  and  repeat  the 
chapter.  The  common  people  in  Scotland  at  that 
time  had  a  kind  of  serious  compassion  for  these 
harmless  idiots,  because  "  the  hand  of  God  was 
upon  them." 

The  wise  as  well  as  the  foolish  are  sometimes 
endowed  with  a  powerful  memory.  Dr.  Gregory, 
an  eminent  Edinburgh  physician,  one  of  the  cleverest 
and  most  agreeable  men  I  ever  met  with,  was  a 
remarkable  instance  of  this.  He  wrote  and  spoke 


Death  of  Sir   William  Fairfax.  93 

Latin  fluently,  and  Somerville,  who  was  a  good 
Latinist,  met  with  a  Latin  quotation  in  some  book  he 
was  reading,  but  hot  knowing  from  whence  it  was 
taken,  asked  his  friend  Dr.  Gregory.  "It  is  forty 
years  since  I  read  that  author,"  said  Dr.  Gregory, 
"  but  I  think  you  will  find  the  passage  in  the 
middle  of  such  a  page."  Somerville  went  for  the 
book,  and  at  the  place  mentioned  there  it  was. 
***** 

I  had  the  grief  to  lose  my  dear  father  at  this 
time.  He  had  served  sixty-seven  years  in  the 
British  Navy,  and  must  have  been  twice  on  the 
North  American  station,  for  he  was  present  at 
the  taking  of  Quebec  by  General  Wolf,  in  1759, 
and  afterwards  during  the  War  of  Independence. 
After  the  battle  of  Camperdown  he  was  made  a 
Colonel  of  Marines,  and  died,  in  1813,  Vice- Admiral 
of  the  Red. 

***** 

Geology,  which  has  now  been  so  far  advanced 
as  a  science,  was  still  in  its  infancy.  Professor  Play- 
fair  and  Mr.  Hugh  Miller  had  written  on  the  sub- 
ject ;  and  in  my  gay  young  days,  when  Lady  Helen 
Hall  was  occasionally  my  chaperone,  I  had  heard 
that  Sir  James  Hall  had  taken  up  the  subject,  but 
I  did  not  care  about  it ;  I  am  certain  that  at  that 
time  I  had  never  heard  the  word  Geology.  I  think 


94  Mary  Somerville. 

it  was  now,  on  going  with  Somerville  to  see  the 
Edinburgh  Museum,  that  I  recognised  the  fossil 
plants  I  had  seen  in  the  coal  limestone  on  the 
sands  at  the  Links  of  Burntisland.  Ultimately 
Geology  became  a  favourite  pursuit  of  ours,  but 
then  minerals  were  the  objects  of  our  joint  study. 
Mineralogy  had  been  much  cultivated  on  the  Con- 
tinent by  this  time,  especially  in  Germany.  It  had 
been  established  as  a  science  by  Werther,  who  was 
educated  at  an  institution  near  the  silver  mines  of 
Friburg,  where  he  afterwards  lectured  on  the  pro- 
perties of  crystals,  and  had  many  pupils.  In  one 
of  our  tours  on  the  Continent,  Somerville  and  I 
went  to  see  these  silver  mines  and  bought  some 
specimens  for  our  cabinet.  The  French  took  up 
the  subject  with  great  zeal,  and  the  Abbd  Haiiy's 
work  became  a  standard  book  on  the  science. 
Cabinets  of  minerals  had  been  established  in  the 
principal  cities  of  Great  Britain,  professors  were 
appointed  in  the  Universities,  and  collections  of 
minerals  were  not  uncommon  in  private  houses. 
While  quite  a  girl,  I  went  with  my  parents  to  visit 
the  Fergusons  of  Kaith,  near  Kirkcaldy,  and  there  I 
saw  a  magnificent  collection  of  minerals,  made  by 
their  son  while  abroad.  It  contained  gems  of  great 
value  and  crystallized  specimens  of  precious  and 
other  metals,  which  surprised  and  interested  me ; 


Reminiscences  of  Sir   Walter  Scott.         95 

but  seeing  that  such  valuable  things  could  never  be 
obtained  by  me,  I  thought  no  more  about  them. 
In  those  early  days  I  had  every  difficulty  to  con- 
tend with ;  now,  through  the  kindness  and  liberal 
opinions  of  my  husband,  I  had  every  encourage- 
ment. He  took  up  the  study  of  mineralogy  with 
zeal,  and  I  heartily  joined  with  him.  We  made 
the  acquaintance  of  Professor  Jameson,  a  pupil  of 
Werner's,  whose  work  on  mineralogy  was  of  great 
use  to  us.  We  began  to  form  a  cabinet  of  minerals, 
which,  although  small,  were  good  of  their  kind.  We 
were  criticized  for  extravagance,  and,  no  doubt  I 
had  the  lion's  share  of  blame  ;  but  more  of  minerals 
hereafter. 

*  *  «  *  » 

Abbotsford  is  only  twelve  miles  distant  from  Jed- 
burgh,  and  my  father-in-law,  Dr.  Somerville,  and  Sir 
Walter  Scott  had  been  intimate  friendsformanyyears, 
indeed  through  life.  The  house  at  Abbotsford  was 
at  first  a  mere  cottage,  on  the  banks  of  the  Tweed ; 
my  brother-in-law,  Samuel,  had  a  villa  adjacent  to 
it,  and  John,  Lord  Somerville,  had  a  house  and 
property  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river,  to  which 
he  came  every  spring  for  salmon  fishing.  He  was 
a  handsome,  agreeable  man,  had  been  educated  in 
England,  and  as  he  thought  he  should  never  live 
in  Scotland,  he  sold  the  family  estate  of  Drum, 


96  Mary  Somervitle. 

within  five  miles  of  Edinburgh,  which  he  after- 
wards regretted,  and  bought  the  property  on  the 
Tweed  he  then  inhabited. 

There  was  great  intimacy  between  the  three 
families,  and  the  society  was  often  enlivened  by 
Adam  Ferguson  and  Willie  Clerk,  whom  we  had 
met  with  at  Kaith.  I  shall  never  forget  the  charm 
of  this  little  society,  especially  the  supper-parties  at 
Abbotsford,  when  Scott  was  in  the  highest  glee, 
telling  amusing  tales,  ancient  legends,  ghost  and 
witch  stories.  Then  Adam  Ferguson  would  sing 
the  "  Laird  of  Cockpen,"  and  other  comic  songs, 
and  Willie  Clerk  amused  us  with  his  dry  wit. 
When  it  was  time  to  go  away  all  rose,  and,  stand- 
ing hand-in-hand  round  the  table,  Scott  taking  the 
lead,  we  sang  in  full  chorus, 

Weel  may  we  a'  be, 
111  may  we  never  see  ; 
Health  to  the  king 
And  the  gude  companie. 

At  that  time  no  one  knew  who  was  the  author 
of  the  Waverley  Novels.  There  was  much  specu- 
lation and  curiosity  on  the  subject.  While  talking 
about  one  which  had  just  been  published,  my  son 
Woronzow  said,  "  I  knew  all  these  stories  long  ago, 
for  Mr.  Scott  writes  on  the  dinner-table.  When  he 
has  finished,  he  puts  the  green-cloth  with  the  papers 


Walter  Scott.  97 

in  a  corner  of  the  dining-room ;  and  when  he  goes 
out,  Charlie  Scott  and  I  read  the  stories."  My 
son's  tutor  was  the  original  of  Dominie  Sampson 
in  "  Guy  Mannering."  The  "  Memorie  of  the  Somer- 
villes  "  was  edited  by  Walter  Scott,  from  an  ancient 
and  very  quaint  manuscript  found  in  the  archives 
of  the  family,  and  from  this  he  takes  passages 
which  he  could  not  have  found  elsewhere.  Although 
the  work  was  printed  it  was  never  published,  but 
copies  were  distributed  to  the  different  members  of 
the  family.  One  was  of  course  given  to  my  hus- 
band. 

The  Burning  of  the  Water,  so  well  described  by 
Walter  Scott  in  "  Redgauntlet,"  we  often  witnessed. 
The  illumination  of  the  banks  of  the  river,  the 
activity  of  the  men  striking  the  salmon  with  the 
"  leisters,"  and  the  shouting  of  the  people  when  a 
fish  was  struck,  was  an  animated,  and  picturesque, 
but  cruel  scene. 

Sophia  Scott,  afterwards  married  to  Mr.  Lockhart, 
editor  of  the  "Quarterly  Keview,"  was  the  only  one  of 
Sir  Walter's  family  who  had  talent.  She  was  not 
pretty,  but  remarkably  engaging  and  agreeable,  and 
possessed  her  father's  joyous  disposition  as  well  as 
his  memory  and  fondness  for  ancient  Border  legends 
and  poetry.  Like  him,  she  was  thoroughly  alive  to 
peculiarities  of  character,  and  laughed  at  them 


98  Mary  Somerville. 

good-naturedly.  She  was  not  a  musician,  had  little 
voice,  but  she  sang  Scotch  songs  and  translations 
from  the  Gaelic  with,  or  without,  harp  accompani- 
ment ;  the  serious  songs  with  so  much  expression, 
and  the  merry  ones  with  so.  much  spirit,  that  she 
charmed  everybody.  The  death  of  her  brothers  and 
of  her  father,  to  whom  she  was  devotedly  attached, 
cast  a  shade  over  the  latter  part  of  her  life.  Mr. 
Lockhart  was  clever  and  an  able  writer,  but  he  was 
too  sarcastic  to  be  quite  agreeable ;  however,  we 
were  always  on  the  most  friendly  terms.  He  was 
of  a  Lanarkshire  family  and  distantly  related  to 
Somerville.  After  the  death  of  his  wife  and  sons, 
Lockhart  fell  into  bad  health  and  lost  much  of  his 
asperity. 

Scott  .was  ordered  to  go  abroad  for  relaxa- 
tion. Somerville  and  I  happened  to  be  at  the  sea- 
port where  he  embarked,  and  we  went  to  take  leave 
of  him.  He  kissed  me,  and  said,  "Farewell,  my 
dear ;  I  am  going  to  die  abroad  like  other  British 
novelists."  Happy  would  it  have  been  if  God 
had  so  willed  it,  for  he  returned  completely  broken 
down  ;  his  hopes  were  blighted,  his  sons  dead,  and 
his  only  remaining  descendant  was  a  grand-daughter, 
daughter  of  Mrs.  Lockhart.  She  married  Mr.  James 
Hope,  and  soon  died,  leaving  an  only  daughter,  the 
last  descendant  of  Sir  Walter  Scott.  Thus  the 


James  Veitch.  99 

"  Merry,  merry  days  that  I  have  seen/'  ended  very 

sadly. 

*  *  "  *  *  * 

When  at  Jedburgh,  I  never  failed  to  visit  James 
Veitch,  who  was  Laird  of  Inchbonny,  a  small  pro- 
perty beautifully  situated  in  the  valley  of  the  Jed, 
at  a  short  distance  from  the  manse.  He  was  a 
plough- wright,  a  hard-working  man,  but  of  rare 
genius,  who  taught  himself  mathematics  and 
astronomy  in  the  evenings  with  wonderful  success, 
for  he  knew  the  motions  of  the  planets,  calculated 
eclipses  and  occupations,  was  versed  in  various 
scientific  subjects,  and  made  excellent  telescopes,  of 
which  I  bought  a  very  small  one  ;  it  was  the  only 
one  I  ever  possessed.  Veitch  was  handsome,  with 
a  singularly  fine  bald  forehead  and  piercing  eyes,  that 
quite  looked  through  one.  He  was  perfectly  aware 
of  his  talents,  shrewd,  and  sarcastic.  His  fame  had 
spread,  and  he  had  many  visits,  of  which  he  was 
impatient,  as  it  wasted  his  time.  He  complained 
especially  of  those  from  ladies  not  much  skilled  in 
science,  saying,  "What  should  they  do  but  ask 
silly  questions,  when  they  spend  their  lives  in 
doing  naething  but  spatting  muslin  ? "  Veitch 
was  strictly  religious  and  conscientious,  observing 
the  Sabbath  day  with  great  solemnity  ;  and  I 
had  the  impression  that  he  was  stern  to  his  wife, 

H  2 


100  Mary  Somerville. 

who  seemed  to  be  a  person  of  intelligence,  for 
I  remember  seeing  her  come  from  the  washing- 
tub  to  point  out  the  planet  Venus  while  it  was 
still  daylight. 

The  return  of  Halley's  "comet,  in  1835,  exactly 
at  the  computed  time,  was  a  great  astronomical 
event,  as  it  was  the  first  comet  of  long  period 
clearly  proved  to  belong  to  our  system.  I  was 
asked  by  Mr.  John  Murray  to  write  an  article  on 
the  subject  for  the  "  Quarterly  Review."  After  it 
was  published,  I  received  a  letter  from  James  Veitch, 
reproaching  me  for  having  mentioned  that  a  peasant 
in  Hungary  was  the  first  to  see  Halley's  comet,  and 
for  having  omitted  to  say  that,  "  a  peasant  at  Inch- 
bonny  was  the  first  to  see  the  comet  of  1811,  the 
greatest  that  had  appeared  for  a  century."  I  re- 
gretted, on  receiving  this  letter,  that  I  either  had  not 
known,  or  had  forgotten  the  circumstance.  Veitch 
has  been  long  dead,  but  I  avail  myself  of  this  oppor- 
tunity of  making  the  amende  honorable  to  a  man 
of  great  mental  power  and  acquirements  who  had 
otruogled  through  difficulties,  unaided,  as  I  have 
done  myself. 


Letter  from  James  Veitch.  101 

LETTER  FROM  JAMES  VEITCH  TO  MRS.  SOMERVILLE. 

,  12th  October,  1836, 


DEAR  MADAM, 

I  saw  in  the  Quarterly  review  for  December 
1835  page  216  that  the  comet  1682  was  discovered  by  a 
Peasent,  George  Palitzch  residing  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Dresden  on  the  25th  of  December  1758  with  a  small 
Telescope.  But  no  mention  is  made  of  the  Peasent  at 
Inchbonny  who  first  discovered  the  beautiful  comet  1811. 
You  will  remember  when  Dr.  Wollaston  was  at  Inch- 
bonny  I  put  a  difficult  question  to  him  that  I  could  not 
solve  about  the  focal  distance  of  optic  glasses  when  the 
Dr.  got  into  a  passion  and  said  :  Had  he  problems  in  his 
pocket  ready  to  pull  out  in  every  occasion  ?  and  with  an 
angry  look  at  me  said,  You  pretend  to  be  the  first  that 
discovered  the  comet  altho'  it  has  been  looked  for  by 
men  of  science  for  some  time  back.  Now  I  never  heard 
of  such  a  thing  and  you  will  perhaps  know  something 
about  it  as  the  Dr.  would  not  be  mistaken.  After  we 
got  acquainted,  the  Dr.  was  a  warm  friend  of  mine  and 
I  have  often  regretted  that  I  had  not  improved  the 
opportunity  I  had  when  he  was  here  on  many  things 
he  was  master  off.  What  ever  others  had  known  or 
expected  I  knew  nothing  about,  But  I  know  this,  that  on 
the  27th  of  August  1811  I  first  saw  it  in  the  NNW. 
part  of  the  Heavens  nigh  the  star  marked  26  on  the 
shoulder  of  the  little  Lion  and  continued  treacing  its 
path  among  the  fixed  stars  untill  it  dissapeared  and  it 
was  generally  admitted  that  I  had  discovered  it  four 
days  before  any  other  person  in  Britain.  However 
Mr.  Thomas  Dick  on  the  Diffusion  of  Knowledge  page 


102  Mary  Somerville. 

101  and  102  has  made  the  following  observation  '  The 
splendid  comet  which  appeared  in  our  hemisphere  in 
1811  was  first  discovered  in  this  country  by  a  sawer. 
The  name  of  this  Gentleman  is  Mr.  Veitch  and  I 
believe  he  resides  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Kelso  who 
with  a  Reflecting  telescope  of  his  own  construction  and 
from  his  sawpit  as  an  observatory,  descried  that  celestial 
visitant  before  it  had  been  noticed  by  any  other 
astronomer  in  North  Britain.'  A  strange  story — a 
sawer  and  a  gentleman  ;  and  what  is  stranger  still 
Mr.  BaiJy  would  not  have  any  place  but  the  sawpit 
for  his  observatory  on  the  15th  May  last.  I  am  sorry 
to  say  with  all  the  improvement  and  learning  that  we 
can  bost  of  in  the  present  day  Halley's  comet  the 
predictions  have  not  been  fulfilled,  either  with  respect 
to  time  or  place.  Thus  on  the  10  October,  at  50 
minutes  past  5  in  the  evening  the  Right  ascension  of 
the  comet  was  163°  37',  with  63°  38'  of  north  declina- 
tion but  by  the  nautical  almanac  for  the  10  October 
its  right  ascension  ought  to  have  been  225°  2'  6,  and 
its  declination  29°  33'.  Hence  the  difference  is  no  less 
than  61°  in  Eight  ascension  and  34°  in  declination. 
When  you  have  time,  write  me. 

Dear  Madam,  I  remain, 

Yours  sincerely, 

JAMES  VEITCH. 


Sir  David  Brewster  was  many  years  younger  than 
James  Veitch ;  in  his  early  years  he  assisted  his 
father  in  teaching  the  parish-school  at  Jedburgh, 
and  in  the  evenings  he  went  to  Inchbonny  to  study 


Brcwster.  103 

astronomy  with  James  Veitch,  who  always  called  him 
Davie.  They  were  as  much  puzzled  about  the  mean- 
ing of  the  word  parallax  as  I  had  been  with  regard  to 
the  word  algebra,  and  only  learnt  what  it  meant  when 
Brewster  went  to  study  for  the  kirk  in  Edinburgh. 
They  were  both  very  devout ;  nevertheless,  Brewster 
soon  gave  up  the  kirk  for  science,  and  he  devoted 
himself  especially  to  optics,  in  which  he  made  so 
many  discoveries.  Sir  David  was  of  ordinary 
height,  with  fair  or  sandy-coloured  hair  and  blue 
eyes.  He  was  by  no  means  good-looking,  yet  with 
a  very  pleasant,  amiable  expression ;  in  conversa- 
tion he  was  cheerful  and  agreeable  when  quite  at 
ease,  but  of  a  timid,  nervous,  and  irritable  tempera- 
ment, often  at  war  with  his  fellow-philosophers 
upon  disputed  subjects,  and  extremely  jealous 
upon  priority  of  discovery.  I  was  much  indebted 
to  Sir  David,  for  he  reviewed  my  book  on  the 
"Connexion  of  the  Physical  Sciences,"  in  the  April 
number  of  the  "Edinburgh  Review  "  for  183J,  and 
the  "  Physical  Geography "  in  the  April  number 
of  the  "  North  British  Review,"  both  favourably. 


CHAPTER  VII 

LIFE  IN  HANOVER  SQUARE — VISIT  TO  FRANCE— ARAGO — CUVIER — 
ROME. 

[My  father  was  appointed,  in  1816,  a  member  of  the 
Army  Medical  Board,  and  it  became  necessary  for  him 
to  reside  in  London.  He  and  my  mother  accordingly 
wished  farewell  to  Scotland,  and  proceeded  to  take  up 
their  residence  in  Hanover  Square.  My  mother  pre- 
served the  following  recollections  of  this  journey  : — 


ON  our  way  we  stopped  a  day  at  Birmingham, 
on  purpose  to  see  Watt  and  Boulton's  manu- 
factory of  steam  engines  at  Soho.  Mr.  Boulton 
showed  us  everything.  The  engines,  some  in  action, 
although  beautifully  smooth,  showed  a  power  that 
was  almost  fearful.  Since  these  early  forms  of  the 
steam  engine  I  have  lived  to  see  this  all  but  omnipo- 
tent instrument  change  the  locomotion  of  the  whole 
civilized  world  by  sea  and  by  land. 

Soon  after  our  arrival  in  London  we  became 
acquainted  with  the  illustrious  family  of  the 
Herschels,  through  the  kindness  of  our  friend  Pro- 


The  Herschel  Family.  105 

fessor  Wallace,  for  it  was  by  his  arrangement  that 
we  spent  a  day  with  Sir  William  and  Lady  Herschel, 
at  Slough.  Nothing  could  exceed  the  kindness  of 
Sir  William.  He  made  us  examine  his  celebrated 
telescopes,  and  explained  their  mechanism ;  and  he 
showed  us  the  manuscripts  which  recorded  the 
numerous  astronomical  discoveries  he  had  made. 
They  were  all  arranged  in  the  most  perfect  order, 
as  was  also  his  musical  library,  for  that  great  genius 
was  an  excellent  musician.  Unfortunately,  his  sister, 
Miss  Caroline  Herschel,  who  shared  in  the  talents 
of  the  family,  was  abroad,  but  his  son,  afterwards 
Sir  John,  my  dear  friend  for  many  years,  was  at 
home,  quite  a  youth.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
name  a  branch  of  the  physical  sciences  which  he 
has  not  enriched  by  important  discoveries.  He  has 
ever  been  a  dear  and  valued  friend  to  me,  whose 

advice  and  criticism  I  gratefully  acknowledge. 

*  *  *  «  * 

I  took  lessons  twice  a  week  from  Mr.  Glover,  who 
painted  landscapes  very  prettily,  and  I  liked  him  on 
account  of  his  kindness  to  animals,  especially  birds, 
which  he  tamed  so  that  they  flew  before  him  when 
he  walked,  or  else  sat  on  the  trees>  and  returned  to 
him  when  he  whistled.  1  regret  now  that  I  ever 
resumed  my  habit  of  painting  in  oil ;  water-colours 
are  much  better  suited  to  an  amateur,  but  as  I  had 


106  Mary  Somerville. 

never  seen  any  that  were  good,  I  was  not  aware  of 
their  beauty. 

I  also  took  lessons  in  mineralogy  from  Mrs. 
Lowry,  a  Jewess,  the  wife  of  an  eminent  line 
engraver,  who  had  a  large  collection  of  minerals, 
and  in  the  evening  Somerville  and  I  amused  our- 
selves with  our  own,  which  were  not  numerous. 

Our  house  in  Hanover  Square  was  within  a  walk- 
ing distance  of  many  of  our  friends,  and  of  the 
Eoyal  Institution  in  Albemarle  Street,  where  I 
attended  the  lectures,  and  Somerville  frequently 
went  with  me.  The  discoveries  of  Sir  Humphry 
Davy  made  this  a  memorable  epoch  in  the  annals  of 
chemical  science.  At  this  time  there  was  much  talk 
about  the  celebrated  Count  Rumford's  steam  kitchen, 
by  which  food  was  to  be  cooked  at  a  very  small 
expense  of  fuel.  It  was  adopted  by  several  people, 
and  among  others  by  Naldi,  the  opera  singer,  who 
invited  some  friends  to  dine  the  first  day  it  was  to 
be  used.  Before  dinner  they  all  went  to  see  the 
new  invention,  but  while  Naldi  was  explaining  its 
structure,  it  exploded  and  killed  him  on  the  spot. 
By  this  sad  accident  his  daughter,  a  pretty  girl  and 
a  good  singer,  was  left  destitute.  A  numerously- 
attended  concert  was  given  for  her  benefit,  at  which 
Somerville  and  I  were  present.  She  was  soon  after 
engaged  to  sing  in  Paris,  but  ultimately  married  the 


The  Prince  de  Conde1.  107 

Comte  de  Sparre,  a  Frencli  gentleman,  and  left  the 
stage. 

AVhen  MM.  Arago  and  Biot  came  to  England  to 
continue  the  French  arc  of  the  meridian  through 
Great  Britain,  they  were  warmly  received  by  the 
scientific  men  in  London,  and  we  were  always  in- 
vited to  meet  them  by  those  whom  we  knew.  They 
had  been  told  of  my  turn  for  afrience,  and  that  I  had 
read  the  works  of  La  Place.  Biot  expressed  his 

surprise  at  my  youth. 

***** 

One  summer  Somerville  proposed  to  make  a  tour 
in  Switzerland,  so  we  set  off,  and  on  arriving 
at  Chantilly  we  were  told  that  we  might  see  the 
chateau  upon  giving  our  cards  to  the  doorkeeper. 
On  reading  our  name,  Mademoiselle  de  Eohan  came 
to  meet  us,  saying  that  she  had  been  at  school  in 
England  with  a  sister  of  Lord  Somerville's,  and  was 
glad  to  see  any  of  the  family.  She  presented  us  to 
the  Prince  de  Conde,  a  fine-looking  old  man,  who 
received  us  very  courteously,  and  sent  the  lord-in- 
waiting  to  show  us  the  grounds,  and  especially  the 
stables,  the  only  part  of  the  castle  left  in  its  regal 
magnificence  after  the  Eevolution.  The  Prince  and 
the  gentleman  who  accompanied  us  wore  a  gaudy 
uniform  like  a  livery,  which  we  were  told  was  the 
Chantilly  uniform,  and  that  at  each  palace  belonging 


108  Mary  Somerville. 

to  tlie  Prince  there  was  a  different  uniform  worn  by 
him  and  his  court. 

At  Paris  we  were  received  with  the  kindest  hos- 
pitality by  M.  and  Mme.  Arago.  I  liked  her 
much,  she  was  so  gentle  and  ladylike ;  he  was  tall 
and  good-looking,  with  an  animated  countenance 
and  black  eyes.  His  character  was  noble,  generous, 
and  singularly  energetic ;  his  manners  lively  and  even 
gay.  He  was  a  man  of  very  general  information, 
and,  from  his  excitable  temperament,  he  entered  as 
ardently  into  the  politics  and  passing  events  of  the 
time  as  into  science,  in  which  few  had  more  exten- 
sive knowledge.  On  this  account  I  thought  his 
conversation  more  brilliant  than  that  of  any  of  the 
French  savans  with  whom  I  was  acquainted.  They 
were  living  at  the  Observatory,  and  M.  Arago 
showed  me  all  the  instruments  of  that  magnificent 
establishment  in  the  minutest  detail,  which  was 
highly  interesting  at  the  time,  and  proved  more 
useful  to  me  than  I  was  aware  of.  M.  Arago  made 
us  acquainted  with  the  Marquis  de  la  Place,  and  the 
Marquise,  who  was  quite  an  elegante.  The  Marquis 
was  not  tall,  but  thin,  upright,  and  rather  formal. 
He  was  distinguished  in  his  manners,  and  I  thought 
there  was  a  little  of  the  courtier  in  them,  perhaps  from 
having  been  so  much  at  the  court  of  the  Emperor 
Napoleon,  who  had  the  highest  regard  for  him. 


Arago  and  La  Place.  109 

Though  incomparably  superior  to  Arago  in  mathe- 
matics and  astronomical  science,  he  was  inferior  to. 
him  in  general  acquirements,  so  that  his  conversa- 
tion was  less  varied  and  popular.  We  were  invited 
to  go  early  and  spend  a  day  with  them  at  Arcoeuil, 
where  they  had  a  country  house.  M.  Arago  had 
told  M.  de  la  Place  that  I  had  read  the  "  Meca- 
nique  Celeste,"  so  we  had  a  great  deal  of  conversation 
about  astronomy  and  the  calculus,  and  he  gave  me 
a  copy  of  his  "  Systeme  du  Monde,"  with  his  in- 
scription, which  pleased  me  exceedingly.  I  spoke 
French  very  badly,  but  I  was  less  at  a  loss  on  scien- 
tific subjects,  because  almost  all  my  books  on  science 
were  in  French.  The  party  at  dinner  consisted  of 
MM.  Biot,  Arago,  Bouvard,  and  Poisson.  I  sat 
next  M.  de  la  Place,  who  was  exceedingly  kind 
and  attentive.  In  such  an  assemblage  of  philoso- 
phers I  expected  a  very  grave  and  learned  conversa- 
tion. But  not  at  all !  Everyone  talked  in  a  gay, 
animated,  and  loud  key,  especially  M.  Poisson,  who 
had  all  the  vivacity  of  a  Frenchman.  Madame 
Biot,  from  whom  we  received  the  greatest  attention, 
made  a  party  on  purpose,  as  she  said,  to  show  us, 
"  les  personnes  distingue*  es."  Madame  Biot  was  a 
well-educated  woman,  and  had  made  a  translation 
from  the  German  of  a  work,  which  was  published 
under  the  name  of  her  husband.  The  dinner  was 


110  Mary  Somerville. 

very  good,  and  Madame  Biot  was  at  great  pains  in 
placing  every  one.  Those  present  were  Monsieur 
and  Madame  Arago,  Monsieur  and  Madame  Poisson, 
who  had  only  been  married  the  day  before,  and 
Baron  Humboldt.  The  conversation  was  lively  and 
entertaining. 

The  consulate  and  empire  of  the  first  Napoleon 
Was  the  most  brilliant  period  of  physical  astronomy 
in  France.  La  Grange,  who  proved  the  stability  of 
the  solar  system,  La  Place,  Biot,  Arago,  Bouvard, 
and  afterwards  Poinsot,  formed  a  perfect  constella- 
tion of  undying  names ;  yet  the  French  had  been 
for  many  years  inferior  to  the  English  in  practical 
astronomy.  The  observations  made  at  Greenwich 
by  Bradley,  Maskelyn,  and  Pond,  have  been  so  ad- 
mirably continued  under  the  direction  of  the  present 
astronomer-royal,  Mr.  Airy,  the  first  practical  astro- 
nomer in  Europe,  that  they  have  furnished  data  for 
calculating  the  astronomical  tables  both  in  France 
and  England. 

The  theatre  was  at  this  time  very  brilliant  in 
Paris.  We  saw  Talma,  who  was  considered  to  be 
the  first  tragedian  of  the  age  in  the  character  of  Tan- 
crede.  I  admired  the  skill  with  which  he  overcame 
the  disagreeable  effect  which  the  rhyme  of  the  French 
tragedies  has  always  had  on  me'.  Notwithstand- 
ing his  personal  advantages,  I  thought  him  a  great 


Cuvier.  Ill 

artist,  though  inferior  to  John  Kemble.  I  am  afraid 
my  admiration  of  Shakespeare,  my  want  of  sym- 
pathy with  the  artificial  style  of  French  tragedy, 
and  perhaps  my  youthful  remembrance  of  our  great 
tragedian  Mrs.  Siddons,  made  me  unjust  to  Made- 
moiselle Duchenois,  who,  although  ugly,  was  cer- 
tainly an  excellent  actress  and  a  favourite  of  the 
public.  I  was  so  fond  of  the  theatre  that  I  enjoyed 
comedy  quite  as  much  as  tragedy,  and  was  delighted 
with  Mademoiselle  Mars,  whom  we  saw  in  Tartuffe. 
Some  years  later  I  saw  her  again,  when,  although 
an  old  woman,  she  still  appeared  handsome  and 
young  upon  the  stage,  and  was  as  graceful  and 
lively  as  ever. 

Soon  after  our  dinner  party  at  Arcceuil,  we  went 
to  pay  a  morning  visit  to  Madame  de  la  Place.  It 
was  late  in  the  day;  but  she  received  us  in  bed 
elegantly  dressed.  I  think  the  curtains  were  of 
muslin  with  some  gold  ornaments,  and  the  coverlet 
was  of  rich  silk  and  gold.  It  was  the  first  time  that 
I  had  ever  seen  a  lady  receive  in  that  manner. 
Madame  de  La  Place  was  lively  and  agreeable ;  I 
liked  her  very  much. 

We  spent  a  most  entertaining  day  with  M.  and 
Madame  Cuvier  at  the  Jardin  des  Plantes,  and  saw 
the  Museum,  and  everything  in  that  celebrated 
establishment.  On  returning  to  the  house,  we 


112  Mary  Somerville. 

found  several  people  had  come  to  spend  the 
evening,  and  the  conversation  was  carried  on  with 
a  good  deal  of  spirit ;  the  Countess  Albrizzi, 
a  Venetian  lady,  of  high  acquirements,  joined  in 
it  with  considerable  talent  and  animation.  Cuvier 
had  a  very  remarkable  countenance,  not  hand- 
some, but  agreeable,  arid  his  manner  was  pleasing 
and  modest,  and  his  conversation  very  interest- 
ing. Madame  de  Stael  having  died  lately,  was 
much  discussed.  She  was  much  praised  for  her 
good-nature,  and  for  the  brilliancy  of  her  conversa- 
tion. They  agreed,  that  the  energy  of  her  character, 
not  old  age,  had  worn  her  out.  Cuvier  said,  the 
force  of  her  imagination  misled  her  judgment,  and 
made  her  see  things  in  a  light  different  from  all 
the  world.  As  a  proof  of  this,  he  mentioned 
that  she  makes  Corinne  lean  on  a  marble  lion 
which  is  on  a  tomb  in  St.  Peter's,  at  Rome, 
more  than  twenty  feet  high.  Education  was 
very  much  discussed.  Cuvier  said,  that  when  he 
was  sent  to  inspect  the  schools  at  Bordeaux  and 
Marseilles,  he  found  very  few  of  the  scholars  who 
could  perform  a  simple  calculation  in  arithmetic  ; 
as  to  science,  history,  or  literature,  they  were  un- 
known, and  the  names  of  the  most  celebrated 
French  philosophers,  famed  in  other  countries,  were 
utterly  unknown  to  those  who  lived  in  the  pro- 


Mr.  Pentland.  113 

vinces.  M.  Biot  had  written  home,  that  he  had 
found  in  Aberdeen  not  one  alone,  but  many,  who 
perfectly  understood  the  object  of  his  journey,  and 
were  competent  to  converse  with  him  on  the  sub- 
ject. Cuvier  said  such  a  circumstance  constituted 
one  of  the  striking  differences  between  France  and 
England ;  for  in  France  science  was  highly  cultivated, 
but  confined  to  the  capital.  It  was  at  M.  Cuvier's 
that  I  first  met  Mr.  Pentland,  who  made  a  series  of 
physical  and  geological  observations  on  the  Andes 
of  Peru.  I  was  residing  in  Italy  when  I  published 
my  "Physical  Geography,"  and  Mr.  Pentland*  kindly 
undertook  to  carry  the  book  through  the  press  for 
me.  From  that  time  he  has  been  a  steady  friend, 
ever  ready  to  get  me  information,  books,  or  any- 
thing I  wanted.  We  became  acquainted  also  with 
M.  Gay-Lussac,  who  lived  in  the  Jardin  des  Plantes, 
and  with  Baron  Larrey,  who  had  been  at  the  head 
of  the  medical  department  of  the  army  in  Egypt 
under  the  first  Napoleon. 

*  *  *  *  * 

At  Paris  1  equipped  myself  in  proper  dresses,  and 
we  proceeded  by  Fontainebleau  to  Geneva,  where 
we  found  Dr.  Marcet,  with  whom  my  husband  had 

*  Joseph  Barclay  Pentland,  Consul-General  in  Bolivia  (183(5-39),  died 
in  London,  July,  1873.  He  first  discovered  that  Illimani  and  Sorata 
(not  Chimborazo)  were  the  highest  mountains  in  America.  (See 
Humboldt's  "  Kosmos.") 


114  Mary  Somerville. 

already  been  acquainted  in  London.  I,  for  the 
first  time,  met  Mrs.  Marcet,  with  whom  I  have  ever 
lived  on  terms  of  affectionate  friendship.  So  many 
books  have  now  been  published  for  young  ^people, 
that  no  one  at  this  time  can  duly  estimate  the  im- 
portance of  Mrs.  Marcet' s  scientific  works.  To  them 
is  partly  owing  that  higher  intellectual  education 
now  beginning  to  prevail  among  the  better  classes 
in  Britain.  They  produced  a  great  sensation,  and 
went  through  many  editions.  Her  "  Conversations 
on  Chemistry/'  first  opened  out  to  Faraday's  mind 
that  field  of  science  in  which  he  became  so  illus- 
trious, and  at  the  height  of  his  fame  he  always  men- 
tioned Mrs.  Marcet  with  deep  reverence. 

Through  these  kind  friends  we  became  acquainted 
with  Professors  De  Candolle,  Prevost,  and  De  la  Rive. 
Other  distinguished  men  were  also  presented  to  us  ; 
among  these  was  Mr.  Sismondi,  author  of  the  "  His- 
tory of  the  Italian  Republics."  Madame  Sismondi 
was  a  Miss  Allen,  of  a  family  with  whom  we  were 
very  intimate. 

[Some  time  after  her  return  to  England,  my  mother, 
desirous  of  continuing  the  study  of  botany,  in  which  she 
had  already  attained  considerable  proficiency,  wrote  to 
M.  De  Candolle,  asking  his  advice,  and  he  sent  her  the 
following  reply : — 


De  Candolle.  115 

LETTER  FROM  M.  DE  CANDOLLE  TO  MRS.  SOMERVILLE. 

LONDEES,  5  Juin,  .1819. 

MAPAME, 

Vous  avez  passe  les  premieres  difficultes  de 
1'etude  des  plantes  et  vous  me  faites  1'honneur  de  me 
consulter  sur  les  moyens  d'aller  en  avant ;  connaissant 
votre  gout  et  votre  talent  pour  les  sciences  les  plus 
relevees  je  ne  craindrai  point  de  vous  engager  a  sortir 
de  la  Botanique  eleinentaire  et  a  vous  clever  aux  con- 
siderations et  aux  etudes  qui  en  font  une  science  sus- 
ceptible d'idees  generates,  duplications  aux  choses 
utiles  et  de  liaison  avec  les  autres  branches  des  con- 
naissances  humaines.  Pour  cela  il  faut  etudier  non  plus 
seulement  la  nomenclature  et  1'echafaudage  artificiel 
qui  la  soutient,  mais  les  rapports  des  plantes  entre  elles 
et  avec  les  elemens  exterieurs,  ou  en  d'autres  tennes,  la 
classification  naturelle  et  la  Physiologic. 

Pour  1'un  et  1'autre  de  ces  branches  de  la  science  il  est 
necessaire  en  premier  lieu  de  se  familiariser  avec  la 
structure  des  plantes  considered  dans  leur  caractere 
exacte.  Vous  trouverez  un  precis  abre'ge  de  ces  carac- 
teres  dans  le  ler  vol.  de  la  Flore  frangaise ;  vous  la 
trouverez  plus  deVeloppe  et  accompagne  de  planches  dans 
les  Siemens  de  Botanique  de  Michel.  Quant  a  la  struc- 
ture du  fruit  qui  est  un  des  points  les  plus  difficiles  et 
les  plus  importans,  vous  allez  avoir  un  bon  ouvrage 
traduit  et  augmente  par  un  de  vos  jeunes  et  habiles  com- 
patriotes,  Mr.  Lindley — c'est  1'analyse  du  fruit  de  M. 
Richard.  La  traduction  vaudra  mieux  que  1'original. 
Outre  ces  lectures,  ce  qui  vous  apprendra  surtout  la 
structure  des  plantes,  c'est  de  les  analyser  et  de  les 

i  2 


116  Mary  Somerville. 

decrire  vous-meme  d'apres  les  termes  techniques ;  ce 
travail  deviendrait  penible  et  inutile  a  faire  sur  un  grand 
n  ombre  de  plantes,  et  il  vaut  mieux  ne  le  faire  que  sur 
un  tres  petit  nombre  d'especes  choisies  dans  des  classes 
tres  distinctes.  Quelques  descriptions  faites  aussi  com- 
pletes qu'il  vous  sera  possible  vous  apprendra  plus  que 
tous  les  livres. 

Des  que  vous  connaitrez  bien  les  organes  et  concur- 
remment  avec  cette  etude  vous  devrez  chercher  a  prendre 
une  ide'e  de  la  classification  naturelle.  Je  crains  de  vous 
paraitre  presomptueux  en  vous  engageant  a  lire  d'abord 
sous  ce  point  de  vue  ma  Theorie  elementaire.  Apres 
ces  etudes  ou  a  peu  pres  en  meme  temps  pour  profiter 
de  la  saison,  vous  ferez  bien  de  rapporter  aux  ordres 
naturels  toutes  les  plantes  que  vous  aurez  recueillies. 
La  lecture  desxcaracteres  des  families  faites  la  plante  a 
la  main  et  1'acte  de  ranger  vos  plantes  en  families  vous 
feront  connaitre  par  theorie  et  par  pratique  ces  groupes 
naturels.  Je  vous  engage  dans  cette  etude,  surtout  en  le 
commencement,  a  ne  donner  que  peu  d'attention  au 
systeme  general  qui  lie  les  families,  mais  beaucoup  a  la 
connaissance  de  la  physionomie  qui  est  propre  a  chacune 
d'elles.  Sous  ce  point  de  vue  vous  pourrez  trouver 
quelque  interet  a  lire — 1°  les  Tableaux  de  la  Nature  de 
M.  de  Humboldt;  2°  mon  essai  sur  les  propriete's  des 
plantes  compare'es  avec  leurs  formes  exte'rieures;  3°  les 
remarques  sur  la  geographic  botanique  de  la  Nouvelle 
Hollande  et  de  1'Afrique,  insures  par  M.  Robt.  Brown 
a  la  fin  du  voyage  de  Finders  et  de  1'expedition  au 
Congo. 

Quant  a  1'etude  de  la  Physiologie  ou  de  la  connais- 
sance des  vegetaux  considered  comme  etres  vivans,  je 
vous  engage  a  lire  les  ouvrages  dans  1'ordre  suivant: 


De  Candolle.  117 

Philibert,  El&nens  de  Bot.  et  de  Phys.,  3  vols. ;  la  2de 
partie  des  principes  elementaires  de  la  Bot.  de  la  Flore 
frangaise.  Vous  trouverez  la  partie  anatomique  dans 
1'ouvrage  de  Mirbel ;  la  partie  chimique  dans  les 
recherches  chimiques  sur  la  Veget.  de  T.  de  Saussure ; 
la  partie  statique  dans  la  statique  des  vegetaux  de 
Hales,  &c.  &c.  Mais  je  vous  engage  surtout  a  voir  par 
vous-m&ne  les  plantes  a  tous  leurs  ages,  a  suivre  leur 
vegetation,  a  les  decrire  en  detail,  en  un  mot  a  vivre  avec 
elles  plus  qu'avec  les  livres. 

Je  desire,  madame,  que  ces  conseils  puissent  vous 
engager  a  suivre  1'etude  des  plantes  sous  cette  direction 
qui  je  crois  en  releve  beaucoup  1'importance  et  1'inte'ret. 
Je  m'estimerai  heureux  si  en  vous  1'indiquant  je  puis 
concourir  a  vos  succes  futures  et  a  vous  initier  dans  une 
etude  que  j'ai  toujours  regarde"  comme  une  de  celles 
qui  peut  le  plus  contribuer  au  bonheur  journalier. 

Je  vous  prie  d'agreer  mes  hommages  empresses. 

DE  CANDOLLE. 


We  had  made  the  ordinary  short  tour  through 
Switzerland,  and  had  arrived  at  Lausanne  on  our 
way  home,  when  I  was  taken  ill  with  a  severe  fever 
which  detained  us  there  for  many  weeks.  I  shall 
never  forget  the  kindness  I  received  from  two  Miss 
Barclays,  Quaker  ladies,  and  a  Miss  Fotheringham, 
who,  on  hearing  of  my  illness,  came  and  sat  up 
alternate  nights  with  me,  as  if  I  had  been  their 
sister. 

The  winter  was  now  fast  approaching,  and  Somer- 


118  Mary  Somerville. 

ville  thought  that  in  my  weak  state  a  warm  climate 
was  necessary ;  so  we  arranged  with  our  friends,  the 
Miss  Barclays,  to  pass  the  Simplon  together.  We 
parted  company  at  Milan,  but  we  renewed  our 
friendship  in  London. 

We  went  to  Monza,  and  saw  the  iron  crown  ;  and 
there  I  found  the  Magnolia  grandiflora,  which 
hitherto  I  had  only  known  as  a  greenhouse  plant, 
rising  almost  into  a  forest  tree. 

At  Venice  we  renewed  our  acquaintance  with  the 
Countess  Albrizzi,  who  received  every  evening.  It 
was  at  these  receptions  that  we  saw  Lord  Byron,  but 
he  would  not  make  the  acquaintance  of  any  English 
people  at  that  time.  When  he  came  into  the  room  I 
did  not  perceive  his  lameness,  and  thought  him 
strikingly  Lke  my  brother  Henry,  who  was  remark- 
ably handsome.  I  said  to  Somerville,  "Is  Lord 
Byron  like  anyone  you  know  ? "  "  Your  brother 
Henry,  decidedly."  Lord  Broughton,  then  Sir  John 
Cam  Hobhouse,  was  also  present. 

At  Florence,  I  was  presented  to  the  Countess  of 
Albany,  widow  of  Prince  Charles  Edward  Stuart 
the  Pretender.  She  was  then  supposed  to  be  married 
to  Alfieri  the  poet,  and  had  a  kind  of  state  reception 
every  evening.  I  did  not  like  her,  and  never  went 
again.  Her  manner  was  proud  and  insolent.  "  So 
you  don't  speak  Italian  ;  you  must  have  had  a  very 


Countess   of  Albany.  119 

bad  education,  for  Miss  Clephane  Maclane  there 
[who  was  close  by]  speaks  both  French  and  Italian 
perfectly."  So  saying,  she  turned  away,  and  never 
addressed  another  word  to  me.  That  evening  I 
recognised  in  Countess  Moretti  my  old  friend 
Agnes  Bonar.  Moretti  was  of  good  family ;  but, 
having  been  banished  from  home  for  political 
opinions,  he  taught  the  guitar  in  London  for  bread, 
and  an  attachment  was  formed  between  him  and 
his  pupil.  After  the  murder  of  her  parents,  they 
were  both  persecuted  with  the  most  unrelenting 
cruelty  by  her  brother.  They  escaped  to  Milan 
where  they  were  married. 

I  was  still  a  young  woman ;  but  I  thought  myself 
too  old  to  learn  to  speak  a  foreign  language,  conse- 
quently I  did  not  try.  I  spoke  French  badly  ;  and 
now,  after  several  years'  residence  in  Italy,  although 
I  can  carry  on  a  conversation  fluently  in  Italian,  I 
do  not  speak  it  well. 

[When  my  mother  first  went  abroad,  she  had  no 
fluency  in  talking  French,  although  she  was  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  literature.  To  show  how,  at  every 
period  of  her  life,  she  missed  no  opportunity  of  acquiring 
information  or  improvement,  I  may  mention  that  many 
years  after,  when  we  were  spending  a  summer  in 
Siena,  where  the  language  is  spoken  with  great  purity 
and  elegance,  she  engaged  a  lady  to  converse  in  Italian 
with  her  for  a  couple  of  hours  daily.  By  this  means 


120  Mary  Somerville. 

she  very  soon  became  perfectly  familiar  with  the  language, 
and  could  keep  up  conversation  in  Italian  without  diffi- 
culty. She  never  cared  to  write  in  any  language  but 
English.  Her  style  has  been  reckoned  particularly  clear 
and  good,  and  she  was  complimented  on  it  by  various 
competent  judges,  although  she  herself  was  always  diffi- 
dent about  her  writings,  saying  she  was  only  a  self- 
taught,  uneducated  Scotchwoman,  and  feared  to  use 
Scotch  idioms  inadvertently.  In  speaking  she  had  a 
very  decided  but  pleasant  Scotch  accent,  and  when 
aroused  and  excited,  would  often  unconsciously  use  not 
only  native  idioms,  but  quaint  old  Scotch  words.  Her 
voice  was  soft  and  low,  and  her  manner  earnest. 


On  our  way  to  Kome,  where  we  spent  the  winter  of 
1817,  it  was  startling  to  see  the  fine  church  of  Santa 
Maria  degli  Angeli,  below  Assisi,  cut  in  two ;  half 
of  the  church  and  half  of  the  dome  above  it  were 
still  entire  ;  the  rest  had  been  thrown  down  by  the 
earthquake  which  had  destroyed  <  the  neighbouring 
town  of  Foligno,  and  committed  such  ravages  in 
this  part  of  Umbria. 

At  that  time  I  might  have  been  pardoned  if  I  had 
described  St.  Peter's,  the  Vatican,  and  the  innume- 
rable treasures  of  art  and  antiquity  at  Rome ;  but 
now  that  they  are  so  well  known  it  would  be 
ridiculous  and  superfluous.  Here  I  gained  a  little 
more  knowledge  about  pictures ;  but  I  preferred 
sculpture,  partly  from  the  noble  specimens  of  Greek 


Thorwaldsen   and    Canova.  121 

art  I  saw  in  Paris  and  Rome,  and  partly  because  I 
was  such,  an  enthusiast  about  the  language  and 
everything  belonging  to  ancient  Greece.  During 
this  journey  I  was  highly  gratified,  for  we  made  the 
acquaintance  of  Thorwaldsen  and  Canova.  Canova 
was  gentle  and  amiable,  with  a  beautiful  counte- 
nance, and  was  an  artist  of  great  reputation.  Thor- 
waldsen had  a  noble  and  striking  appearance,  and 
had  more  power  and  originality  than  Canova.  His 
bas-reliefs  were  greatly  admired.  I  saw  the  one  he 
made  of  Night  in  the  house  of  an  English  lady,  who 
had  a  talent  for  modelling,  and  was  said  to  be 
attached  to  him.  We  were  presented  to  Pope  Pius 
the  Seventh  ;  a  handsome,  gentlemanly,  and  amiable 
old  man.  He  received  us  in  a  summer-house  in  the 
garden  of  the  Vatican.  He  was  sitting  on  a  sofa, 
and  made  me  sit  beside  him.  His  manners  were 
simple  and  very  gracious ;  he  spoke  freely  of  what 
he  had  suffered  in  France.  He  said,  "God  forbid 
that  he  should  bear  ill-will  to  any  one;  but  the 
journey  and  the  cold  were  trying  to  an  old  man,  and 
he  was  glad  to  return  to  a  warm  climate  and  to  his 
own  country."  When  we  took  leave,  he  said  to  me, 
"Though  a  Protestant,  you  will  be  none  the  worse 
for  an  old  man's  blessing."  Pius  the  Seventh  was 
loved  and  respected ;  the  people  knelt  to  him  as  he 
passed.  Many  years  afterwards  we  were  pre- 


122  Mary  Somerville. 

sented  to  Gregory  the  Sixteenth,  a  very  common- 
looking  man,  forming  a  great  contrast  to  Pius  the 
Seventh. 

I  heard  more  good  music  during  this  first  visit  to 
Eome  than  I  ever  did  after ;  for  besides  that  usual 
in  St.  Peter's,  there  was  an  Academia  every  week, 
where  Marcello's  Psalms  were  sung  in  concert  by  a 
number  of  male  voices,  besides  other  concerts,  private 
and  public.  We  did  not  make  the  acquaintance  of 
any  of  the  Roman  families  at  this  time  ;  but  we  saw 
Pauline  Borghese,  sister  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon, 
so  celebrated  for  her  beauty,  walking  on  the  Pincio 
every  afternoon.  Our  great  geologist,  Sir  Roderick 
Murchison,  with  his  wife,  were  among  the  English 
residents  at  Rome.  At  that  time  he  hardly  knew 
one  stone  from  another.  He  had  been  an  officer  in 
the  Dragoons,  an  excellent  horseman,  and  a  keen 
fox-hunter.  Lady  Murchison, — an  amiable  and  ac- 
complished woman,  with  solid  acquirements  which 
few  ladies  at  that  time  possessed — had  taken  to 
the  study  of  geology ;  and  soon  after  her  husband 
began  that  career  which  has  rendered  him  the  first 
geologist  of  our  country.  It  was  then  that  a 
friendship  began  between  them  and  us,  which  will 
only  end  with  life.  Mrs.  Fairfax,  of  Gilling  Castle, 
and  her  two  handsome  daughters  were  also  at 
Rome.  She  was  my  n-amesake — Mary  Fairfax — and 


Brigands.  123 

my  valued  friend  till  her  death.     Now,  alas !  many 
of  these  friends  are  gone. 

There  were  suck  troops  of  brigands  in  the  Papal 
States,  that  it  was  considered  unsafe  to  go  outside 
the  gates  of  Eome.  They  carried  off  people  to  the 
mountains,  and  kept  them  till  ransomed  ;  sometimes 
even  mutilated  them,  as  they  do  at  the  present  day 
in  the  kingdom  of  Naples.  Lucien  Bonaparte  made 
a  narrow  escape  from  being  carried  off  from  his  villa, 
Villa  Euffinella,  near  Frascati.  When  it  could  be 
proved  that  brigands  had  committed  murder,  they 
were  confined  in  prisons  in  the  Maremma,  at  Campo 
Morto,  where  fever  prevails,  and  where  they  were 
supposed  to  die  of  malaria.  I  saw  Gasperone,  the 
chief  of  a  famous  band,  in  a  prison  at  Civita  Vecchia ; 
he  was  said  to  be  a  relative  of  Cardinal  Antonelli, 
both  coming  from  the  brigand  village  of  Sonnino,  in 
the  Volscian  mountains.  In  going  to  Naples  our 
friends  advised  us  to  take  a  guard  of  soldiers ;  but 
these  were  suspected  of  being  as  bad,  and  in  league 
with  the  brigands.  So  we  travelled  post  without 
them ;  and  though  I  foolishly  insisted  on  going  round 
by  the  ruins  of  ancient  Capua,  which  was  considered 
very  unsafe,  we  arrived  at  Naples  without  any 
encounter.  Here  we  met  with  the  son  and  daughter 
of  Mr.  Smith,  of  Norwich,  a  celebrated  leader  in  the 
anti-slavery  question.  This  was  a  bond  of  interest 


124  Mary  Somerville. 

between  his  family  and  me ;  for  when  I  was  a  girl  I 
took  the  anti-slavery  cause  so  warmly  to  heart  that 
I  would  not  take  sugar  in  my  tea,  or  indeed  taste 
anything  with  sugar  in  it.  I  was  not  singular  in 
this,  for  my  cousins  and  many  of  my  acquaintances 
came  to  the  same  resolution.  How  long  we  kept  it 
I  do  not  remember.  Patty  Smith  and  I  became 
great  friends,  and  I  knew  her  sisters ;  but  only 
remember  her  niece  Florence  Nightingale  as  a  very 
little  child.  My  friend  Patty  was  liberal  in  her 
opinions,  witty,  original,  an  excellent  horsewoman, 
and  drew  cleverly ;  but  from  bad  health  she  was 
peculiar  in  all  her  habits.  She  was  a  good  judge 
of  art.  Her  father  had  a  valuable  collection  of 
pictures  of  the  ancient  masters ;  and  I  learnt  much 
from  her  with  regard  to  paintings  and  style  in 
drawing.  We  went  to  see  everything  in  Naples  and 
its  environs  together,  and  she  accompanied  Somer- 
ville and  me  in  an  expedition  to  Peestum,  where  we 
made  sketches  of  the  temples.  At  Naples  we  bought 
a  beautiful  cork  model  of  the  Temple  of  Neptune, 
which  was  placed  on  our  mineral  cabinet  on  our 
return  to  London.  A  lady  who  came  to  pay  me  a 
morning  visit  asked  Somerville  what  it  was ;  and 
when  he  told  her,  she  said,  "  How  dreadful  it  is  to 
think  that  all  the  people  who  worshipped  in  that 
temple  are  in  eternal  misery,  because  they  did  not 


Minerals.  125 

believe  in  our  Saviour."  Somerville  asked,  "How 
could  they  believe  in  Christ  when  He  was  not 
born  till  many  centuries  after?"  I  am  sure  she 

thought  it  was  all  the  same. 

*  *  *  *  # 

There  had  been  an  eruption  of  Vesuvius  just 
before  our  arrival  at  Naples,  and  it  was  still 
smoking  very  much  ;  however,  we  ascended  it, 
and  walked  round  the  crater,  running  and  holding 
a  handkerchief  to  our  nose  as  we  passed  through  the 
smoke,  when  the  wind  blew  it  to  our  side.  The 
crater  was  just  like  an  empty  funnel,  wide  at  the 
mouth,  and  narrowing  to  a  throat. '  The  lava  was 
hard  enough  to  bear  us  ;  but  there  were  numerous 
fumeroles,  or  red-hot  chasms,  in  it,  which  we  could 
look  into.  Somerville  bought  a  number  of  crystals 
from  the  guides,  and  went  repeatedly  to  Portici 
afterwards  to  complete  our  collection  of  volcanic 
minerals. 

They  were  excavating  busily  at  Pompeii ;  at  that 
time,  and  in  one  of  our  many  excursions  there 
Somerville  bought  from  one  of  the  workmen  a 
bronze  statuette  of  Minerva,  and  a  very  fine  rosso 
antico  Terminus,  which  we  contrived  to  smuggle 
into  Naples ;  and  it  now  forms  part  of  a  small 
but  excellent  collection  of  antiques  which  I  stiU 
possess.  The  excavations  at  that  period  were  con 


126  Mary  Somerville. 

ducted  with  little  regularity  or  direction,  and  the 
guides  were  able  to  carry  on  a  contraband  trade 
as  mentioned.  Since  the  annexation  of  the  Nea- 
politan provinces  to  the  kingdom  of  Italy,  the 
Cavaliere  Fiorelli  has  organised  the  system  of  ex- 
cavations in  the  most  masterly  manner,  and  has 
made  many  interesting  discoveries.  About  one- 
third  of  the  town  has  been  excavated  since  it  was 
discovered  till  the  present  day. 

In  passing  through  Bologna,  we  became  ac- 
quainted with  the  celebrated  Mezzofanti,  after- 
wards Cardinal.  He  was  a  quiet-looking  priest; 
we  could  not  see  anything  in  his  countenance  that 
indicated  talent,  nor  was  his  conversation  remark- 
able ;  yet  he  told  us  that  he  understood  fifty-two 
languages.  He  left  no  memoir  at  his  death ;  nor 
did  he  ever  trace  any  connection  between  these 
languages ;  it  was  merely  an  astonishing  power, 
which  led  to  nothing,  like  that  of  a  young  American 
I  lately  heard  of,  who  could  play  eleven  games 
at  chess  at  the  same  time,  without  looking  at  any 
chess-board. 


CHAPTEE  VTII. 

EDUCATION  OP  DAUGHTERS — DR.  WOLLASTON — DR.  YOUNG— 
THE  HERSCHELS. 

WHEN  we  returned  to  Hanover  Square,  I  devoted 
my  morning  hours,  as  usual,  to  domestic  affairs  ; 
but  now  my  children  occupied  a  good  deal  of  my 
time.  Although  still  very  young,  I  thought  it  ad- 
visable for  them  to  acquire  foreign  languages  ;  so  I 
engaged  aFrench  nursery-maid,  that  they  might  never 
suffer  what  I  had  done  from  ignorance  of  modern 
languages.  I  besides  gave  them  instruction  in  such 
things  as  I  was  capable  of  teaching,  and  which  were 
suited  to  their  age. 

It  was  a  great  amusement  to  Somerville  and 
myself  to  arrange  the  minerals  we  had  collected 
during  our  journey.  Our  cabinet  was  now  very  rich. 
Some  of  our  specimens  we  had  bought ;  our  friends 
had  given  us  duplicates  of  those  they  possessed ; 
and  George  Finlayson,  who  was  with  our  troops  in 
Ceylon,  and  who  had  devoted  all  his  spare  time  to 
the  study  of  the  natural  productions  of  the  country, 


128  Mary  Somervtlle. 

sent  us  a  valuable  collection  of  crystals  of  sapphire, 
ruby,  oriental  topaz,  amethyst,  &c.,  &c.  Somerville 
used  to  analyze  minerals  with  the  blowpipe,  which 
I  never  did.  One  evening,  when  he  was  so  occu- 
pied, I  was  playing  the  piano,  when  suddenly  I 
fainted ;  he  was  very  much  startled,  as  neither  I 
nor  any  of  our  family  had  ever  done  such  a  thing. 
When  I  recovered,  I  said  it  was  the  smell  of 
garlic  that  had  made  me  ill.  The  truth  was,  the 
mineral  contained  arsenic,  and  I  was  poisoned  for 
the  time  by  the  fumes. 

At  this  time  we  formed  an  acquaintance  with  Dr. 
Wollaston,  which  soon  became  a  lasting  friendship. 
He  was  gentlemanly,  a  cheerful  companion,  and  a 
philosopher ;  he  was  also  of  agreeable  appearance, 
having  a  remarkably  fine,  intellectual  head.  He  was 
essentially  a  chemist,  and  discovered  palladium ;  but 
there  were  few  branches  of  science  with  which  he 
was  not  more  or  less  acquainted.  He  made  experi- 
ments to  discover  imponderable  matter;  I  believe, 
with  regard  to  the  ethereal  medium.  Mr.  Brand,  of 
the  Royal  Institution,  enraged  him  by  sending  so 
strong  a  current  of  electricity  through  a  machine  he 
had  made  to  prove  electro-magnetic  rotation,  as  to 
destroy  it.  His  characteristic  was  extreme  accuracy, 
which  particularly  fitted  him  for  giving  that  preci- 
sion to  the  science  of  crystallography  which  it  had 


Dr.    Wollaston.  129 

not  hitherto   attained.     By   the   invention   of   the 

goniometer  which  bears  his  name,  he  was  enabled  to 

*, 

measure  the  angle  formed  by  the  faces  of  a  crystal 
by  means  of  the  reflected  images  of  bright  objects 
seen  in  them.  We  bought  a  goniometer,  and  Dr. 
Wollaston,  who  often  dined  with  us,  taught  Somer- 
ville  and  me  how  to  use  it,  by  measuring  the  angles 
of  many  of  our  crystals  during  the  evening.  I 
learnt  a  great  deal  on  a  variety  of  subjects  besides 
crystallography  from  Dr.  Wollaston,  who,  at  his 
death,  left  me  a  collection  of  models  of  the  forms  of 
all  the  natural  crystals  then  known. 

Though  still  occasionally  occupied  with  the 
mineral  productions  of  the  earth,  I  became  far 
more  interested  in  the  formation  of  the  earth  itself. 
Geologists  had  excited  public  attention,  and  had 
shocked  the  clergy  and  the  more  scrupulous  of  the 
laity  by  proving  beyond  a  doubt  that  the  forma- 
tion of  the  globe  extended  through  enormous 
periods  of  time.  The  contest  was  even  more  keen 
then  than  it  is  at  the  present  time  about  the  various 
races  of  pre-historic  men.  It  lasted  very  long,  too  ; 
for  after  I  had  published  my  work  on  Physical 
Geography,  I  was  preached  against  by  name  in  York 
Cathedral.  Our  friend,  Dr.  Buckland,  committed 
himself  by  taking  the  clerical  view  in  his  "  Bridge- 
water  Treatise  •"  but  facts  are  such  stubborn  things, 


130  Mary  Somerville. 

that  he  was  obliged  to  join  the  geologists  at  last. 
He  and  Mrs.  Buckland  invited  Somerville  and  me 
to  spend  a  week  with  them  in  Christchurch  College, 
Oxford.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Murchison  were  their  guests 
at  the  same  time.  Mr.  Murchison  (now  Sir  Roderick) 
was  then  rising  rapidly  to  the  pre-eminence  he  now 
holds  as  a  geologist.  We  spent  every  day  in  seeing 
some  of  the  numerous  objects  of  interest  in  that 
celebrated  university,  venerable  for  its  antiquity, 
historical  records,  and  noble  architecture. 

Somerville  and  I  used  frequently  to  spend  the 
evening  with  Captain  and  Mrs.  Kater.  Dr.  Wol- 
laston,  Dr.  Young,  and  others  were  generally  of  the 
party  ;  sometimes  we  had  music,  for  Captain  and 
Mrs.  Kater  sang  very  prettily.  All  kinds  of  scientific 
subjects  were  discussed,  experiments  tried  and  astro- 
nomical observations  made  in  a  little  garden  in  front 
of  the  house.  One  evening  we  had  been  trying  the 
power  of  a  telescope  in  separating  double  stars  till 
about  two  in  the  morning  ;  on  our  way  home  we 
saw  a  light  in  Dr.  Young's  window,  and  when 
Somerville  rang  the  bell,  down  came  the  doctor  him- 
self in  his  dressing-gown,  and  said,  "  Come  in  ;  I 
have  something  curious  to  show  you."  Astronomi- 
cal signs  are  frequently  found  on  ancient  Egyptian 
monuments,  and  were  supposed  to  have  been  em- 
ployed by  the  priests  to  record  dates.  Now  Dr. 


Dr.  Young.  131 

Young  had  received  a  papyrus  from  Egypt,  sent  to 
him  by  Mr.  Salt,  who  had  found  it  in  a  mummy- 
case  ;  and  that  very  evening  he  had  proved  it  to 
be  a  horoscope  of  the  age  of  the  Ptolemies,  and 
had  determined  the  date  from  the  configuration 
of  the  heavens  at  the  time  of  its  construction. 
Dr.  Young  had  already  made  himself  famous  by 
the  interpretation  of  hieroglyphic  characters  on  a 
stone  which  had  been  brought  to  the  British  Museum 
from  Rosetta  in  Egypt.  On  that  stone  there  is  an 
inscription  in  Hieroglyphics,  the  sacred  symbolic 
language  of  the  early  Egyptians;  another  in  the 
Enchorial  or  spoken  language  of  that  most  ancient 
people,  and  a  mutilated  inscription  in  Greek.  By 
the  aid  of  some  fragments  of  papyri  Dr.  Young  dis- 
covered that  the  Enchorial  language  is  alphabetical, 
and  that  nine  of  its  letters  correspond  with  ours ; 
moreover,  he  discovered  such  a  relation  between  the 
Enchorial  and  the  hieroglyphic  inscription  that  he 
interpreted  the  latter  and  published  his  discoveries  in 
the  years  1815  and  1816. 

M.  Champollion,  who  had  been  on  the  same  pur- 
suit, examined  the  fine  collection  of  papyri  in  the 
museum  at  Turin,  and  afterwards  went  to  Egypt  to 
pursue  his  studies  on  hieroglyphics,  to  our  know- 
ledge of  which  he  contributed  greatly.  It  is  to 
be  regretted  that  one  who  had  brought  that  branch 

K    2 


132  Mary  Somerville. 

of  science  to  such  perfection  should  have  been  so 
ungenerous  as  to  ignore  the  assistance  he  had  re- 
ceived from  the  researches  of  Dr.  Young.  When  the 
Royal  Institution  was  first  established,  Dr.  Young 
lectured  on  natural  philosophy.  He  proved  the  un- 
dulatory  theory  of  light  by  direct  experiment,  but  as 
it  depended  upon  the  hypothesis  of  an  ethereal 
medium,  it  was  not  received  in  England,  the  more 
so  as  it  was  contrary  to  Newton's  theory.  The 
French  savans  afterwards  did  Young  ample  justice. 
The  existence  of  the  ethereal  medium  is  now  all  but 
proved,  since  part  of  the  corona  surrounding  the 
moon  during  a  total  solar  eclipse  is  polarized — a  phe- 
nomenon depending  on  matter.  Young's  Lectures, 
which  had  been  published,  were  a  mine  of  riches  to 
me.  He  was  of  a  Quaker  family  ;  but  although  he 
left  the  Society  of  Friends  at  an  early  age,  he  retained 
their  formal  precision  of  manner  to  the  last.  He 
was  of  a  kindly  disposition,  and  his  wife  and 
her  sisters,  with  whom  I  was  intimate,  were  much 
attached  to  him.  Dr.  Young  was  an  elegant  and 
critical  scholar  at  a  very  early  age ;  he  was  an 
astronomer,  a  mathematician,  and  there  were  few 
branches  of  science  in  which  he  was  not  versed. 
When  young,  his  Quaker  habits  did  not  prevent  him 
from  taking  lessons  in  music  and  dancing.  I  have 
heard  him  accompany  his  sister-in-law  with  the  flute, 


The  First  Spectrum  Analysis.  133 

while  she  .played  the  piano.  When  not  more  than 
sixteen  years  of  age  he  was  so  remarkable  for  steadi- 
ness and  acquirements  that  he  was  engaged  more  as 
a  companion  than  tutor  to  young  Hudson  Gurney, 
who  was  nearly  of  his  own  age.  One  spring  morn- 
ing Young  came  to  breakfast  in  a  bright  green  coat, 
and  said  in  explanation  of  his  somewhat  eccentric 
costume  for  one  who  had  been  a  Quaker,  that  it  was 
suitable  to  the  season.  One  day,  on  returning  from 
their  ride  Gurney,  leaped  his  horse  over  the  stable- 
yard  gate.  Young, trying  to  do  the  same,  was  thrown; 
he  got  up,  mounted,  and  made  a  second  attempt  with 
no  better  success ;  the  third  time  he  kept  his  seat, 
then  quietly  dismounting,  he  said,  "  What  one  man 

can  do,  another  may." 

***** 

One  bright  morning  Dr.  Wollaston  came  to  pay 
us  a  visit  in  Hanover  Square,  saying,  "  I  have  dis- 
covered seven  dark  lines  crossing  the  solar  spectrum, 
which  I  wish  to  show  you ;"  then,  closing  the  window- 
shutters  so  as  to  leave  only  a  narrow  line  of  light, 
he  put  a  small  glass  prism  into  my  hand,  telling  me 
how  to  hold  it.  I  saw  them  distinctly.  I  was 
among  the  first,  if  not  the  very  first,  to  whom  he 
showed  these  lines,  which  were  the  origin  of  the  most 
wonderful  series  of.  cosmical  discoveries,  and  have 
proved  that  many  of  the  substances  of  our  globe  are 


134  Mary  Somerville. 

also  constituents  of  the  sun,  the  stars,  and  even  of 
the  nebulae.  Dr.  Wollaston  gave  me  the  little  prism, 
which  is  doubly  valuable,  being  of  glass  manufac- 
tured at  Munich  by  Fraunhofer,  whose  table  of  dark 
lines  has  now  become  the  standard  of  comparison  in 
that  marvellous  science,  the  work  of  many  illustrious 

men,  brought  to  perfection  by  Bunsen  and  Kirchhoff. 
*  *  #  #  # 

Sir  William  Herschel  had  discovered  that  what 
appeared  to  be  single  stars  were  frequently  two  stars 
in  siich  close  approximation  that  it  required  a  very 
high  telescopic  power  to  see  them  separately,  and 
that  in  many  of  these  one  star  was  revolving  in  an 
orbit  round  the  other.  Sir  James  South  estab- 
lished an  observatory  at  Camden  Hill,  near  Kensing- 
ton, where  he  and  Sir  John  Herschel  united  in 
observing  the  double  stars  and  binary  systems  with 
the  view  of  affording  further  data  for  improving  our 
knowledge  of  their  movements.  In  each  two  observa- 
tions are  requisite,  namely,  the  distance  between  the 
two  stars,  and  the  angle  of  position,  that  is,  the  angle 
which  the  meridian  or  a  parallel  to  the  equator 
makes  with  the  lines  joining  the  two  stars.  These 
observations  were  made  by  adjusting  a  micrometer 
to  a  very  powerful  telescope,  and  were  data  suffi- 
cient for  the  determination  of  the  orbit  of  the 
revolving  star,  should  it  be  a  binary  system.  I  have 


Binary  Stars.  135 

given  an  account  of  this  in  the  "  Connexion  of  the 
Physical  Sciences/'  so  I  shall  only  mention  here  that 
in  one  or  two  of  the  binary  systems  the  revolving 
star  has  been  seen  to  make  more  than  one  revolution, 
and  that  the  periodical  times  and  the  elliptical  ele- 
ments of  a  great  many  other  orbits  have  been  calcu- 
lated, though  they  are  more  than  200,000  times 
farther  from  the  sun  than  we  are. 

After  Sir  John  Herschel  was  married,  we  paid 
him  a  visit  at  Slough;  fortunately,  the  sky  was 
clear,  and  Sir  John  had  the  kindness  to  show  me 
many  nebulae  and  clusters  of  stars  which  I  had 
never  seen  to  such  advantage  as  in  his  20  ft.  tele- 
scope. 1  shall  never  forget  the  glorious  appearance 
of  Jupiter  as  he  entered  the  field  of  that  instru- 
ment. 

For  years  the  British  nation  was  kept  in  a  state  of 
excitement  by  the  Arctic  voyages  of  our  undaunted 
seamen  in  quest  of  a  north-west  passage  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The  idea  was  not 
new,  for  a  direct  way  to  our  Eastern  possessions  had 
been  long  desired.  On  this  occasion  the  impulse 
was  given  by  William  Scoresby,  captain  of  a  whaler, 
who  had  sailed  on  the  east  coast  of  Greenland  as 
high  as  the  80th  parallel  of  latitude,  and  for  two  suc- 
cessive seasons  had  found  that  the  sea  between 
Greenland  and  Spitzbergen  was  free  of  ice  for  18,000 


136  Mary  Somerville. 

square  miles — a  circumstance  which  had  not  oc- 
curred before  in  the  memory  of  man.  Scoresby  was 
of  rare  genius,  well  versed  in  science,  and  of 
strict  probity.  When  he  published  this  discovery, 
the  Admiralty,  in  the  year  1818,  sent  off  two  expedi- 
tions, one  under  the  command  of  Captains  Franklin 
and  Buchan  to  the  east  of  Greenland,  and  another 
under  Captains  Koss  and  Parry  to  Baffin's  Bay. 
Such  was  the  beginning  of  a  series  of  noble  adven- 
tures, now  the  province  of  history. 

I  had  an  early  passion  for  everything  relating  to 
the  sea,  and  when  my  father  was  at  home  I  never 
tired  asking  him  questions  about  his  voyages  and  the 
dangers  to  which  he  had  been  exposed.  Now,  when 
I  knew  something  of  nautical  science,  I  entered  with 
enthusiasm  into  the  spirit  of  these  Arctic  voyages  ; 
nor  was  my  husband  less  interested.  We  read 
Scoresby's  whaling  voyages  with  great  delight,  and 
we  made  the  acquaintance  of  all  the  officers  who 
had  been  on  these  northern  expeditions. 

Sir  Edward  Parry,  who  had  brought  us  minerals 
and  seeds  of  plants  from  Melville  Island,  invited  us 
to  see  the  ships  prepared  for  his  third  voyage,  and 
three  years'  residence  in  the  Arctic  seas.  It  is  im- 
possible to  describe  how  perfectly  everything  was 
arranged :  experience  had  taught  them  what  was 
necessary  for  such  an  expedition.  On  this  occasion 


Somerville  Island.  137 

I  put  in  practice  my  lessons  in  cookery  by  making  a 
large  quantity  of  orange  marmalade  for  the  voyage. 
When,  after  three  years,  the  ships  returned,  we 
were  informed  that  the  name  of  Somerville  had  been 
given  to  an  island  so  far  to  the  north  that  it  was 
all  but  perpetually  covered  with  ice  and  snow.  Not- 
withstanding the  sameness  which  naturally  prevails 
in  the  narratives  of  these  voyages,  they  are  invested 
with  a  romantic  interest  by  the  daring  bravery  dis- 
played, and  by  the  appalling  difficulties  overcome. 
The  noble  endeavour  of  Lady  Franklin  to  save  her 
gallant  husband,  and  the  solitary  voyage  of  Sir 
Leopold  McClintock  in  a  small  yacht  in  search  of 
his  lost  friend,  form  the  touching  and  sad  termina- 
tion to  a  very  glorious  period  of  maritime  adventure. 
More  than  fifty  years  after  these  events  I  renewed  my 
acquaintance  with  Lady  Franklin.  She  and  her  niece 
came  to  see  me  at  Spezia  on  their  way  to  Dalmatia. 
She  had  circumnavigated  the  globe  with  her  husband 
when  he  was  governor  in  Australia.  After  his  loss 
she  and  her  niece  had  gone  round  the  world  a  second 
time,  and  she  assured  me  that  although  they  went  to 
Japan  and  China  (less  known  at  that  time  than  they 
are  now),  they  never  experienced  any  difficulty. 
Seeing  ladies  travelling  alone,  people  were  always 
willing  to  help  them.  The  French  sent  a  Polar  expe- 
dition under  Captain  Gaimard  in  the  years  1838  and 


138  Mary  Somerville. 

1839  ;  and  the  United  States  of  North  America  took 
an  active  part  in  Arctic  exploration.  Whether  Dr. 
Kane's  discovery  of  an  open  polar  ocean  will  ever  be 
verified  is  problematical ;  at  all  events,  the  deplorable 
fate  of  Sir  John  Franklin  has  put  a  stop  to  the 
chance  of  it  for  the  present ;  yet  it  is  a  great  geogra- 
phical ^question  which  we  should  all  like  to  see 
decided. 

Captain  Sabine,  of  the  Artillery  (now  General  Sir 
Edward  Sabine,  President  of  the  Royal  Society), 
was  appointed  to  accompany  the  first  expedition 
under  Captains  Ross  and  Parry  on  account  of  his 
high  scientific  acquirements.  The  observations  made 
during  the  series  of  Arctic  voyages  on  the  magnetism 
of  the  earth,  combined  with  an  enormous  mass  of 
observations  made  by  numerous  observers  in  all 
parts  of  the  globe  by  sea  and  by  land,  have  enabled 
Sir  Edward  Sabine,  after  a  labour  of  nearly  fifty 
years,  to  complete  his  marvellous  system  of  terrestrial 
magnetism  in  both  hemispheres.  During  that  long 
period  a  friendship  has  lasted  between  Sir  Edward 
and  me.  He  has  uniformly  sent  me  copies  of  all 
his  works ;  to  them  I  chiefly  owe  what  I  know  on 
the  subject,  and  quite  recently  I  have  received  his 
latest  and  most  important  publication.  Sir  Edward 
married  a  lady  of  talent  and  scientific  acquirements. 
She  translated  "  Cosmos"  from  the  German,  and 


Lifeboats.  139 

assisted  and  calculated  for  her  husband  in  his  labo- 
rious work. 

I  do  not  remember  the  exact  period,  but  I  think 
it  was  subsequent  to  the  Arctic  voyages,  that  the 
theory  was  discovered  of  those  tropical  hurricanes 
which  cause  such  devastation  by  sea  and  land. 
Observations  are  now  made  on  barometric  pres- 
sure, and  warnings  are  sent  to  our  principal  sea- 
ports by  telegraph,  as  well  as  along  both  sides 
of  the  Channel ;  but  notwithstanding  numerous 
disastrous  shipwrecks  occur  every  winter  on  our 
dangerous  coasts.  They  were  far  more  numerous 
in  my  younger  days.  Life-boats  were  not  then 
invented  ;  now  they  are  stationed  on  almost 
every  coast  of  Great  Britain,  and  on  many  conti- 
nental shores.  The  readiness  with  which  they  are 
manned,  and  the  formidable  dangers  encountered  to 
save  life,  show  the  gallant,  noble  character  of  the 
sailor. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

SOCIETY   IN   LONDON — CORONATION  OF   GEORGE   IV. — LETTER 
TO    DR.  SOMERVILLE. 

WE  went  frequently  to  see  Mr.  Babbage  while  he 
was  making  his  Calculating-machines.  He  had  a 
transcendanc  intellect,,  unconquerable  perseverance, 
and  extensive  knowledge  on  many  subjects,  besides 
being  a  first-rate  mathematician.  I  always  found 
him  most  amiable  and  patient  in  explaining  the 
structure  and  use  of  the  engines.  The  first  he  made 
could  only  perform  arithmetical  operations.  Not 
satisfied  with  that,  Mr.  Babbage  constructed  an 
analytical  engine,  which  could  be  so  arranged  as  to 
perform  all  kinds  of  mathematical  calculations,  and 
print  each  result. 

Nothing  has  afforded  me  so  convincing  a  proof  of 
the  unity  of  the  Deity  as  these  purely  mental  con- 
ceptions of  numerical  and  mathematical  science 
which  have  been  by  slow  degrees  vouchsafed  to 
man,  and  are  still  granted  in  these  latter  times  by 
the  Differential  Calculus,  now  superseded  by  the 


Religious  Opinions.  141 

Higher  Algebra,  all  of  which  must  have  existed  in 
that  sublimely  omniscient  Mind  from  eternity. 

Many  of  our  friends  had  very  decided  and  various 
religious  opinions,  but  my  husband  and  I  never 
entered  into  controversy ;  we  had  too  high  a  regard 
for  liberty  of  conscience  to  interfere  with  any  one's 
opinions,  so  we  have  lived  on  terms  of  sincere 
friendship  and  love  with  people  who  differed  essen- 
tially from  us  in  religious  views,  and  in  all  the  books 
which  I  have  written  I  have  confined  myself  strictly 
and  entirely  to  scientific  subjects,  although  my 
religious  opinions  are  very  decided. 

Timidity  of  character,  probably  owing  to  early 
education,  had  a  great  influence  on  my  daily  life ; 
for  I  did  not  assume  my  place  in  society  in  my 
younger  days ;  and  in  argument  I  was  in- 
stantly silenced,  although  I  often  knew,  and  could 
have  proved,  that  I  was  in  the  right.  The  only 
thing  in  which  I  was  determined  and  inflexible 
was  in  the  prosecution  of  my  studies.  They  were 
perpetually  interrupted,  but  always  resumed  at  the 
first  opportunity.  No  analysis  is  so  difficult  as  that 
of  one's  own  mind,  but  I  do  not  think  I  err  much  in 

saying  that  perseverance  is  a  characteristic  of  mine. 
*  #  #  *  * 

Somerville  and  I  were  very  happy  when  we 
lived  in  Hanover  Square.  We  were  always  en- 


112  Mary  Somerville. 

gaged  in  some  pursuit,  and  had  good  society. 
General  society  was  at  that  time  brilliant  for 
wit  and  talent.  The  Rev.  Sidney  Smith,  Rogers, 
Thomas  Moore,  Campbell,  the  Hon.  William  Spencer, 
Macaulay,  Sir  James  Mackintosh,  Lord  Melbourne, 
&c.,  &c.,  all  made  the  dinner-parties  very  agreeable. 
The  men  sat  longer  at  table  than  they  do  now,  and, 
except  in  the  families  where  I  was  intimate,  the  con- 
versation of  the  ladies  in  the  drawing-room,  when  we 
came  up  from  dinner,  often  bored  me.  I  disliked  routs 
exceedingly,  and  should  often  have  sent  an  excuse  if 
I  had  known  what  to  say.  After  my  marriage  I  did 
not  dance,  for  in  Scotland  it  was  thought  highly  in- 
decorous for  a  married  woman  to  dance.  Waltzing, 
when  first  introduced,  was  looked  upon  with  horror, 
and  even  in  England  it  was  then  thought  very  im- 
proper. 

One  season  I  subscribed  to  the  Concerts  of  Ancient 
Music,  established  by  George  the  Third.  They 
seemed  to  be  the  resort  of  the  a,ged ;  a  young  face 
was  scarcely  to  be  seen.  The  music  was  perfect 
of  its  kind,  but  the  whole  affair -was  very  dull. 
The  Philharmonic  Concerts  were  excellent  for  scien- 
tific musicians,  and  I  sometimes  went  to  them ; 
but  for  my  part  I  infinitely  preferred  hearing 
Pasta,  Malibran,  and  Grisi,  who  have  left  the 
most  vivid  impression  on  my  mind,  although  so 


Theatres.  143 

different  from  each  other.  Somerville  enjoyed  a 
comic  opera  exceedingly,  and  so  did  I ;  and  at  that 
time  Lablache  was  in  the  height  of  his  fame. 
When  Somerville  and  I  made  the  tour  in  Italy  al- 
ready mentioned,  we  visited  Catalani  (then  Madame 
Valabreque)  in  a  villa  near  Florence,  to  which  she 
retired  in  her  old  age.  She,  however,  died  in  Paris, 
of  cholera,  some  years  later. 

Somerville  liked  the  theatre  as  much  as  I  did ;  so 
we  saw  all  the  greatest  actors  of  the  day,  both  in 
tragedy  and  comedy,  and  the  English  theatre  was 
then  excellent.  Young,  who  was  scarcely  inferior 
to  John  Kemble,  Macready,  Kean,  Liston,  &c.,  and 
Miss  O'Neill,  who  after  a  short  brilliant  career 
entered  into  domestic  life  on  her  marriage  with  Sir 
AYilliam  Beecher,  were  all  at  the  height  of  their 
fame.  It  was  then  I  became  acquainted  with  Lady 
Beecher,  who  was  so  simple  and  natural  that  no  one 
could  have  discovered  she  had  ever  been  on  the 
stage.  A  very  clever  company  of  French  comedians 
acted  in  a  temporary  theatre  in  Tottenham  Court 
Road,  where  we  frequently  went  with  a  party  of 
friends,  and  enjoyed  very  pleasant  evenings.  I 
think  my  fondness  for  the  theatre  depended  to  a 
certain  degree  on  my  silent  disposition ;  for  unless 
among  intimate  friends,  or  when  much  excited,  I 
was  startled  at  the  sound  of  my  own  voice  in 


144  Mary  Somerville. 

general  conversation,  from  the  shyness  which  has 
haunted  me  through  life,  and  starts  up  occasionally 
like  a  ghost  in  my  old  age.  At  a  play  I  was  not 
called  upon  to  make  any  exertion,  but  could  enjoy 
at  my  ease  an  intellectual  pleasure  for  the  most  part 
far  superior  to  the  general  run  of  conversation. 

Among  many  others,  we  were  intimate  with 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Baillie  and  his  sisters.  Joanna  was 
my  dear  and  valued  friend  to  the  end  of  her  life. 
When  her  tragedy  of  "Montfort"  was  to  be  brought 
on  the  stage,  Somerville  and  I,  with  a  large  party  of 
her  relations  and  friends,  went  with  her  to  the  theatre. 
The  play  was  admirably  acted,  for  Mrs.  Sid  dons  and 
her  brother  John  Kemble  performed  the  principal 
parts.  It  was  warmly  applauded  by  a  full  house, 
but  it  was  never  acted  again.  Some  time  afterwards 
"The  Family  Legend,"  founded  on  a  Highland 
story,  had  better  success  in  Edinburgh  ;  but  Miss 
Baillie's  plays,  though  highly  poetical,  are  not  suited 
to  the  stage.  Miss  Mitford  was  more  successful, 
for  some  of  her  plays  were  repeatedly  acted.  She 
excelled  also  as  a  writer.  "  Our  Village  "  is  perfect  of 
its  kind  ;  nothing  can  be  more  animated  than  her 
description  of  a  game  of  cricket.  I  met  with  Miss 
Austin's  novels  at  this  time,  and  thought  them  ex- 
cellent, especially  "  Pride  and  Prejudice."  It  cer- 


Mrs.  Opie  and  Mrs.  Fry.  145 

tainly  formed  a  curious  contrast  to  my  old  favourites, 
the  Radcliffe  novels  and  the  ghost  stories ;  but  I 
had  now  come  to  years  of  discretion. 

Among  my  Quaker  friends  I  met  with  that  amiable 
but  eccentric  person  Mrs.  Opie.  Though  a  "wet" 
Quakeress,  she  continued  to  wear  the  peculiar  dress. 
I  was  told  that  she  was  presented  in  it  at  the  Tuileries, 
and  astonished  the  French  ladies.  We  were  also  ac- 
quainted with  Mrs.  Fry,  a  very  different  person,  and 
heard  her  preach.  Her  voice  was  fine,  her  delivery 
admirable,  and  her  prayer  sublime.  We  were  inti- 
mate with  Mr.  (now  Sir  Charles)  Lyell,  who,  if  I  mis- 
take not,  first  met  with  his  wife  fit  our  house,  where 
she  was  extremely  admired  as  the  beautiful  Miss 
Horner.  Until  we  lost  all  our  fortune,  and  went 
to  live  at  Chelsea,  I  used  to  have  little  evening 
parties  in  Hanover  Square. 

*•»-••»•..» 
«  I  was  not  present  at  the  coronation  of  George  the 
Fourth ;  but  I  had  a  ticket  for  the  gallery  in  West- 
minster Hall,  to  see  the  banquet.  Though  1  went 
very  early  in  the  morning,  I  found  a  wonderful 
confusion.  I  showed  my  ticket  of  admission  to  one 
official  person  after  another ;  the  answer  always  was 
"I  know  nothing  about  it."  At* last  I  got  a  good 
place  near  some  ladies  I  knew ;  even  at  that  early 
hour  the  gallery  was  full.  Some  time  after  the 


146  Mary  Somerville. 

ceremony  in  the  Abbey  was  over,  the  door  of  the 
magnificent  hall  was  thrown  open,  and  the  king 
entered  in  the  flowing  curls  and  costume  of  Henry 
the  Eighth,  and,  imitating  the  jaunty  manner  of  that 
monarch,  walked  up  the  hall  and  sat  down  on  the 
throne  at  its  extremity.  The  peeresses  had  already 
taken  their  seats  under  the  gallery,  and  the  king 
was  followed  by  the  peers,  and  the  knights  of  the 
Garter,  Bath,  Thistle,  and  St.  Patrick,  all  in  their 
robes.  After  every  one  had  taken  his  seat,  the 
Champion,  on  his  horse,  both  in  full  armour,  rode 
up  the  hall,  and  threw  down  a  gauntlet  before  the 
king,  while  the  heralds  proclaimed  that  he  was 
ready  to  do  battle  with  any  one  who  denied  that 
George  the  Fourth  was  the  liege  lord  of  these 
realms.  Then  various  persons  presented  offerings  to 
the  king  in  right  of  which  they  held  their  estates. 
One  gentleman  presented  a  beautiful  pair  of  falcons 
in  their  hoods.  While  this  pageantry  and  noise  was 
at  its  height,  Queen  Caroline  demanded  to  be  ad- 
mitted. There  was  a  sudden  silence  and  consterna- 
tion,— it  was  like  the  "handwriting  on  the  wall!" 
The  sensation  was  intense.  At  last  the  order  was  given 
to  refuse  her  admittance ;  the  pageantry  was  re- 
newed, and  the  banquet  followed.  The  noise, 
heat,  and  vivid  light  of  the  illumination  of  the  hall 
gave  me  a  racking  headache  ;  at  last  I  went  out  of 


Two  Coronations.  147 

the  gallery  and  sat  on  a  stair,  where  there  was  a 
little  fresh  air,  and  was  very  glad  when  all  was  over. 
Years  afterwards  'I  was  present  in  Westminster 
Abbey  at  the  coronation  of  our  Queen,  then  a  pretty 
young  girl  of  eighteen.  Placed  in  the  most  trying 
position  at  that  early  age,  by  her  virtues,  both 
public  and  private,  she  has  endeared  herself  to  the 
nation  beyond  what  any  sovereign  ever  did  before. 
***** 

I,  who  had  so  many  occupations  and  duties  at 
home,  soon  tired  of  the  idleness  and  formality  of 
visiting  in  the  country.  I  made  an  exception,  how- 
ever, in  favour  of  an  occasional  visit  to  Mr.  Sotheby, 
the  poet,  and  his  family  in  Epping  Forest,  of  which, 
if  I  mistake  not,  he  was  deputy-ranger ;  at  all 
events,  he  had  a  pretty  cottage  there  where  he 
and  his  family  received  their  friends  with  kind 
hospitality.  He  spent  part  of  the  day  in  his  study, 
and  afterwards  I  have  seen  him  playing  cricket 
with  his  son  and  grandson,  with  as  much  vivacity 
as  any  of  them.  The  freshness  of  the  air  was  quite 
reviving  to  Somerville  and  me ;  and  our  two  little 
girls  played  in  the  forest  all  the  day. 

We  also  gladly  went  for  several  successive  years 
to  visit  Sir  John  Saunders  Sebright  at  Beech- 
wood  Park,  Hertfordshire.  Dr.  Wollaston  gene- 
rally travelled  with  us  on  these  occasions,  when 

I   2 


148  Mary  Somerville. 

we  had  much,  conversation  on  a  variety  of  sub- 
jects, scientific  or  general.  He  was  remarkably 
acute  in  his  observations  on  objects  as  we  passed 
them.  "  Look  at  that  ash  tree  ;  did  you  ever 
notice  that  the  branches  of  the  ash  tree  are 
curves  of  double  curvature  ?"  There  wras  a  comet 
visible  at  the  time  of  one  of  these  little  journeys. 
Dr.  Wollaston  had  made  a  drawing  of  the  orbit  and 
its  elements  ;  but,  having  left  it  in  town,  he  de- 
scribed the  lines  so  accurately  without  naming 
them,  that  I  remarked  at  once,  u  That  is  the  curtate 
or  perihelion  distance/'  which  pleased  him  greatly, 
as  it  showed  how  accurate  his  description  was.  He 
was  a  chess-player,  and,  when  travelling  alone,  he 
used  to  carry  a  book  with  diagrams  of  partially- 
played  games,  in  which  it  is  required  to  give  check- 
mate in  a  fixed  number  of  moves.  He  would 
study  one  of  them,  and  then,  shutting  the  book, 
play  out  the  game  mentally. 

Although  Sir  John  was  a  keen  sportsman  and 
fox-hunter  in  his  youth,  he  was  remarkable  for  his 
kindness  to  animals  and  for  the  facility  with  which 
he  tamed  them.  He  kept  terriers,  and  his  pointers 
were  first  rate,  yet  he  never  allowed  his  keepers  to 
beat  a  dog,  nor  did  he  ever  do  it  himself;  he  said  a 
dog  once  cowed  was  good  for  nothing  ever  after. 
He  trained  them  by  tying  a  string  to  the  collar  and 


Training  Dogs.  149 

giving  it  a  sharp  pull  when  the  dog  did  wrong, 
and  patting  him  kindly  when  he  did  right.  In  this 
manner  he  taught  some  of  his  non-sporting  dogs 
to  play  all  sorts  of  tricks,  such  as  picking  out  the 
card  chosen  by  any  spectator  from  a  number  placed 
in  a  circle  on  the  floor,  the  signal  being  one 
momentary  glance  at  the  card,  &c.  &c.  Sir  John 
published  a  pamphlet  on  the  subject,  and  sent 
copies  of  it  to  the  sporting  gentlemen  and  keepers 
in  the  county,  I  fear  with  little  effect;  men  are 
so  apt  to  vent  their  own  bad  temper  on  their  dogs 
and  horses. 

At  one  of  the  battues  at  Beech  wood,  Chantrey  killed 
two  woodcocks  at  one  shot.  Mr.  Hudson  Gurney 
some  time  after  saw  a  brace  of  woodcocks  carved  in 
marble  in  Chan  trey's  studio ;  Chantrey  told  him  of 
his  shot  and  the  difficulty  of  finding  a  suitable 
inscription,  and  that  it  had  been  tried  in  Latin 
and  even  Greek  without  success.  Mr.  Gurney  said  it 
should  be  very  simple,  such  as  : — 

Driven  from  the  north,  where  winter  starved  them, 
Chantrey  first  shot,  and  then  he  carved  them. 

Beechwood  was  one  of  the  few  places  in  Great 
Britain  in  which  hawking  was  kept  up.  The  falcons 
were  brought  from  Flanders,  for,  except  in  the  Isle 
of  Skye,  they  have  been  extirpated  in  Great  Britain 
like  many  other  of  our  fine  indigenous  birds.  Sir 


150  Mary  Somerville. 

John  kept  fancy  pigeons  of  all  breeds.  He  told 
me  he  could  alter  the  colour  of  their  plumage  in 
three  years  by  cross-breeding,  but  that  it  required 

fully  six  to  alter  the  shape  of  the  bird. 

*  *  *  *  * 

At  some  house  where  we  were  dining  in  London, 
I  forget  with  whom,  Ugo  Foscolo,  the  poet,  was 
one  of  the  party.  He  was  extremely  excitable  and 
irritable,  and  when  some  one  spoke  of  a  translation 
of  Dante  as  being  perfect,  "  Impossible/'  shouted 
Foscolo,  starting  up  in  great  excitement,  at  the 
same  time  tossing  his  cup  full  of  coffee  into  the 
air,  cup  and  all,  regardless  of  the  china  and  the 
ladies'  dresses.  He  died  in  England,  I  fear  in  great 
poverty.  He  was  a  most  distinguished  classical 
scholar  as  well  as  poet.  His  remains  have  been 
brought  to  Italy  within  these  few  years,  and  in- 
terred in  Sante  Croce,  in  Florence. 

***** 

I  had  a  severe  attack  of  what  appeared  to  be 
cholera,  and  during  my  recovery  Mrs.  Hankey  very 
kindly  lent  us  her  villa  at  Hampstead  for  a  few 
weeks.  There  I  went  with  my  children,  Somerville 
with  some  friends  always  coming  to  dinner  on  the 
Sundays.  On  one  of  these  occasions  there  was  a 
violent  thunderstorm,  and  a  large  tree  was  struck 
not  far  from  the  Jiouse.  We  all  went  to  look  at  the 


Practical  A  stronomy.  151 

tree  as  soon  as  the  storm  ceased,  and  found  that  a 
large  mass  of  wood  was  scooped  out  of  the  trunk 
from  top  to  bottom.  I  had  occasion  in  two  other 
instances  to  notice  the  same  effect.  Dr.  Wollaston 
lent  me  a  sextant  and  artificial  horizon ;  so  I  amused 
myself  taking  the  altitude  of  the  sun,  the  conse- 
quence of  which  was  that  I  became  as  brown  as  a 
mulatto,  but  I  was  too  anxious  to  learn  something  of 
practical  astronomy  to  care  about  the  matter. 


CHAPTER  X. 

DEATH  OF  MARGARET  SOMERVILLE — LETTKR  FROM  MRS.  SOMERVILLE 
TO  THE  REV.  DR.  SOMERVILLE — LIFE  AT  CHELSEA — THE  NAFTERS — 
MARIA  EDO  EWORTH— TOUR  IN  GERMANY. 

OUR  happy  and  cheerful  life  in  Hanover  Square 
came  to  a  sad  end.  The  illness  and  death  of  our 
eldest  girl  threw  Somerville  and  me  into  the  deepest 
affliction.  She  was  a  child  of  intelligence  and 
acquirements  far  beyond  her  tender  age. 

[The  long  illness  and  death  of  this  young  girl  fell  very 
heavily  on  my  mother,  who  by  this  time  had  lost  several 
children.  The  following  letter  was  written  by  her  to 
my  grandfather  on  this  occasion.  It  shows  her  steadfast 
faith  in  the  mercy  and  goodness  of  God,  even  when 
crushed  by  almost  the  severest  affliction  which  can  wring 
a  mother's  heart : — 

MRS.  SOMERVILLE  TO  THE  REV.  DR.   SOMERVILLE. 

LONDON,  October,  1823. 

MY  DEAR  FATHER, 

I  never  was  so  long  of  writing  to  you,  but  when 
the  heart  is  breaking  it  is  impossible  to  find  words  ade- 
quate to  its  relief.  We  are  in  deep  affliction,  for  though 
the  first  violence  of  grief  has  subsided,  there  has  sue- 


Appointment  to  Chelsea.  153 

ceeded  a  calm  sorrow  not  less  painful,  a  feeling  of  hope- 
lessness in  this  world  which  only  finds  comfort  in  the 
prospect  of  another,  which  longs  for  the  consummation 
of  all  things  that  we  may  join  those  who  have  gone 
before.  To  return  to  the  duties  of  life  is  irksome,  even 
to  those  duties  which  were  a  delight  when  the  candle  of 
the  Lord  shone  upon  us.  I  do  not  arraign  the  decrees 
of  Providence,  but  even  in  the  bitterness  of  my  soul  I 
acknowledge  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  God,  and 
endeavour  to  be  resigned  to  His  will.  It  is  ungrateful 
not  to  remember  the  many  happy  years  we  have  enjoyed, 
but  that  very  remembrance  renders  our  present  state 
more  desolate  and  dreary — presenting  a  sad  contrast. 
The  great  source  of  consolation  is  in  the  mercy  of  God 
and  the  virtues  of  those  we  lament ;  the  full  assurance 
that  no  good  disposition  can  be  lost  but  must  be  brought 
to  perfection  in  a  better  world.  Our  business  is  to 
render  ourselves  fit  for  that  blessed  inheritance  that  we 
may  again  be  united  to  those  we  mourn. 

Your  affectionate  daughter, 

MARY  SOMERVILLE. 


Somerville  still  held  his  place  at  the  army  medical 
board,  and  was  now  appointed  physician  to  Chelsea 
Hospital ;  so  we  left  our  cheerful,  comfortable  house 
and  went  to  reside  in  a  government  house  in  a  very 
dreary  and  unhealthy  situation,  far  from  all  our 
friends,  which  was  a  serious  loss  to  me,  as  I  was  not 
a  good  walker,  and  during  the  whole  time  I  lived 
at  Chelsea  I  suffered  from  sick  headaches.  Still  we 


154  Mary  Somerville. 

were  very  glad  of  the  appointment,  for  at  this  time 
we  lost  almost  the  whole  of  our  fortune,  through  the 
dishonesty  of  a  person  in  whom  we  had  the  greatest 
confidence. 

All  the  time  we  lived  at  Chelsea  we  had  constant 
intercourse  with  Lady  Noel  Byron  and  Ada,  who 
lived  at  Esher,  and  when  I  came  abroad  I  kept  up  a 
correspondence  with  both  as  long  as  they  lived.  Ada 
was  much  attached  to  me,  and  often  came  to  stay 
with  me.  It  was  by  my  advice  that  she  studied 
mathematics.  She  always  wrote  to  me  for  an  ex- 
planation when  she  met  with  any  difficulty.  Among 
my  papers  I  lately  found  many  of  her  notes,  asking 
mathematical  questions.  Ada  Byron  married  Lord 
King,  afterwards  created  Earl  of  Lovelace,  a  college 
companion  and  friend  of  my  sou. 

Somerville  had  formed  a  friendship  with  Sir 
Henry  Bunbury  when  he  had  a  command  in  Sicily, 
and  we  went  occasionally  to  visit  him  at  Barton  in 
Suffolk.  I  liked  Lady  Bunbury  very  much ;  she 
was  a  niece  of  the  celebrated  Charles  Fox,  and  had 
a  turn  for  natural  history.  I  had  made  a  collec- 
tion of  native  shells  at  Burntislarid,  but  I  only 
knew  their  vulgar  names  ;  now  I  learnt  their  scien- 
tific arrangement  from  Lady  Bunbury.  Her  son, 
Sir  Charles  Bunbury,  is  an  authority  for  fossil 
botany.  The  first  Pinetum  I  ever  saw  was  at  Barton, 


The  Napier s.  155 

and  in  1837  I  planted  a  cedar  in  remembrance  of 
one  of  our  visits. 

Through  Lady  Bunbury  we  became  intimate  with 
all  the  members  of  the  illustrious  family  of  the 
Napiers,  as  she  was  sister  of  Colonel,  afterwards 
General  Sir  William  Napier,  author  of  the  "  His- 
tory of  the  Peninsular  War/'  One  day  Colonel 
Napier,  who  was  then  living  in  Sloane  Street,  intro- 
duced Somerville  and  me  to  his  mother,  Lady  Sarah 
Napier.  Her  manners  were  distinguished,  and 
though  totally  blind,  she  still  had  the  remains  of 
great  beauty ;  her  hand  and  arm,  which  were  ex- 
posed by  the  ancient  costume  she  wore,  were  most 
beautiful  still.  The  most  sincere  friendship  existed 
between  Richard  Napier  and  his  wife  and  me  through 
life  ;  I  shall  never  forget  their  kindness  to  me  at  a 
time  when  1  was  in  great  sorrow.  All  the  brothers 
are  now  gone.  Richard  and  his  wife  were  long  in 
bad  health,  and  he  was  nearly  blind ;  but  his  wife 
never  knew  it,  through  the  devoted  attachment  of 
Emily  ShirrifF,  daughter  of  Admiral  Shirriff,  who 
was  the  comfort  and  consolation  of  both  to  their 
dying  day. 

Maria  Edgeworth  came  frequently  to  see  us  when 
she  was  in  England.  She  was  one  of  my  most 
intimate  friends,  warm-hearted  and  kind,  a  charming 
companion,  with  all  the  liveliness  and  originality  of 


156  Mary  Somerville. 

an  Irishwoman.  For  seventeen  years  I  was  in  con- 
stant correspondence  with  her.  The  cleverness  and 
animation  as  well  as  affection  of  her  letters  I  cannot 
express ;  certainly  women  are  superior  to  men  in 
letter-writing. 

[The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  from  Maria 
Edgeworth  to  a  friend  concerning  my  mother  : — 

MARIA  EDGEWORTH  TO  MISS 

BEECHWOOD  PARK,  January  \ltJi,  1822. 

We  have  spent  two  days  pleasantly  here  with  Dr. 
Wollaston,  our  own  dear  friend  Mrs.  Marcet,  and  the 
Somervilles.  Mrs.  Somerville  is  the  lady  who,  Laplace 
says,  is  the  only  woman  who  understands  his  works. 
She  draws  heautifully,  and  while  her  head  is  among  the 
stars  her  feet  are  firm  upon  the  earth. 

Mrs.  Somerville  is  little,  slightly  made,  fairish  hair, 
pink  colour,  small,  grey,  round,  intelligent,  smiling  eyes, 
very  pleasing  countenance,  remarkably  soft  voice,  strong, 
but  well-bred  Scotch  accent ;  timid,  not  disqualifying 
timid,  but  naturally  modest,  yet  with  a  degree  of  self- 
possession  through  it  which  prevents  her  being  in  the 
least  awkward,  and  gives  her  all  the  advantage  of  her 
understanding,  at  the  same  time  that  it  adds  a  pre- 
possessing charm  to  her  manner  and  takes  off  all  dread 
of  her  superior  scientific  learning. 


While  in  London  T  had  a  French  maid  for  my 
daughters,  and  on  coming  to  Chelsea  I  taught  them 


Education  of  Daughters.  157 

a  little  geometry  and  algebra,  as  well  as  Latin  and 
Greek,  and,  later,  got  a  master  for  them,  that  they 
might  have  a  more  perfect  knowledge  of  these  lan- 
guages than  I  possessed.  Keenly  alive  to  my  own 
defects,  I  was  anxious  that  my  children  should  never 
undergo  the  embarrassment  and  mortification  I  had 
suffered  from  ignorance  of  the  common  European 
languages.  I  engaged  a  young  German  lady, 
daughter  of  Professor  Becker,  of  Offenbach,  near 
Frankfort,  as  governess,  and  was  most  happy  in  my 
choice  ;  but  after  being  with  us  for  a  couple  of 
years,  she  had  a  very  bad  attack  of  fever,  and  was 
obliged  to  return  home.  She  was  replaced  by  a 
younger  sister,  who  afterwards  married  Professor 
Trendelenburg,  Professor  of  Philosophy  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Berlin.  Though  both  these  sisters  were 
quite  young,  I  had  the  most  perfect  confidence 
in  them,  from  their  strict  conscientiousness  and 
morality.  They  were  well  educated,  ladylike,  and 
so  amiable,  that  they  gained  the  friendship  of  my 
children  and  the  affection  of  us  all. 

As  we  could  with  perfect  confidence  leave  the 
children  to  Miss  Becker's  care,  Sir  James  Mackintosh, 
Somerville  and  I  made  an  excursion  to  the  Continent. 
We  went  to  Brussels,  and  what  lady  can  go  there 
without  seeing  the  lace  manufactory  ?  I  saw, 
admired, — and  bought  none  !  We  were  kindly  re- 


158  Mary  Som:rville. 

ceivecl  by  Professor  Quetelet,  wlioiii  we  had  pre- 
viously known,  and  who  never  failed  to  send  me  a 
copy  of  his  valuable  memoirs  as  soon  as  they  were 
published.  I  have  uniformly  met  with  the  greatest 
kindness  from  scientific  men  at  home  and  abroad.  If 
any  of  them  are  alive  when  this  record  is  published, 
I  beg  they  will  accept  of  my  gratitude.  Of  those 
that  are  no  more  I  bear  a  grateful  remembrance. 

The  weather  was  beautiful  when  we  were  at 
Brussels,-  and  in  the  evening  we  went  to  the  public 
garden.  It  was  crowded  with  people,  and  very  'gay. 
We  sat  down,  and  amused  ourselves  by  looking  at 
them  as  they  passed.  Sir  James  was  a  most  agree- 
able companion,  intimate  with  all  the  political 
characters  of  the  day,  full  of  anecdote  and  historical 
knowledge.  That  evening  his  conversation  was  so 
brilliant  that  we  forgot  the  time,  and  looking 
around  found  that  everybody  had  left  the  garden, 
so  we  thought  we  might  as  well  return  to  the  hotel ; 
but  on  coming  to  the  iron-barred  gate  we  found  it 
locked.  Sir  James  and  Somerville  begged  some  of 
those  that  were  passing  to  call  the  keeper  of  the 
park  to  let  us  out ;  but  they  said  it  was  impossible, 
that  we  must  wait  till  morning.  A  crowd  as- 

O 

sembled  laughing  and  mocking,  till  at  last  we  got 
out  through  the  house  of  one  of  the  keepers  of  the 
park. 


Tour  in  Holland.  159 

At  Bonn  we  met  with  Baron  Humboldt,  and  M. 
Schlegel,  celebrated  for  his  translation  of  Shake- 
speare. On  going  up  the  Rhine,  Sir  James  knew  the 
history  of  every  place  and  of  every  battle  that  had 
been  fought.  A  professor  of  his  acquaintance  in  one 
of  the  towns  invited  us  to  dinner,  and  I  was  as- 
tonished to  see  the  lady  of  the  house  going  about 
with  a  great  bunch  of  keys  dangling  at  her  side, 
assisting  in  serving  up  the  dinner,  and  doing  all  the 
duty  of  carving,  her  husband  taking  no  part  what- 
ever in  it.  I  was  annoyed  that  we  had  given  so 
much  trouble  by  accepting  the  invitation.  In  my 
younger  days  in  Scotland,  a  lady  might  make  the 
pastry  and  jelly,  or  direct  in  the  kitchen ;  but  she 
took  no  part  in  cooking  or  serving  up  the  dinn.-r, 
and  never  rose  from  the  table  till  the  ladies  went  to 
the  drawing-room.  However,  as  we  could  not  afford 
to  keep  a  regular  cook,  an  ill-dressed  dish  would 
occasionally  appear,  and  then  my  father  would  say, 
"  God  sends  food,  but  the  devil  sends  cooks." 

In  our  tour  through  Holland,  Somerville  was 
quite  at  home,  and  amused  himself  talking  to  the 
people,  for  he  had  learnt  the  Dutch  language  at  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  We  admired  the  pretty  quaint 
costumes  of  the  women ;  but  I  was  the  only  one  who 
took  interest  in  the  galleries.  Many  of  the  pictures 
of  the  Dutch  school  are  very  fine ;  but  I  never 


160  Mary  Somervtlle. 

should  have  made  a  collection  exclusively  of  them  as 
was  often  done  at  one  time  in  England.  Lord  Gran- 
ville  was  British  Minister  at  the  Hague,  and  dining. 

at  the  Embassy  one  day  we  met  with  a  Mrs. , 

who,  on  hearing  one  of  the  attaches  addressed  as  Mr. 
Abercromby,*  said,  "  Pray,  Lord  Granville,  is  that  a 
son  of  the  great  captain  whom  the  Lord  slew  in  the 
land  of  Egypt?" 

I  never  met  with  Madame  de  Stael,  but  heard  a 
great  deal  about  her  during  this  journey  from  Sir 
James  Mackintosh,  who  wras  very  intimate  with  her. 
At  that  time  the  men  sat  longer  at  table  after 
dinner  than  they  do  now  ;  and  on  one  occasion, 
at  a  dinner  party  at  Sir  James's  house,  when  Lady 
Mackintosh  and  the  ladies  returned  to  the  drawing- 
room,  Madame  de  Stael,  who  was  exceedingly  im- 
patient of  women's  society,  would  not  deign  to 
enter  into  conversation  with  any  of  the  ladies,  but 
walked  about  the  room ;  then  suddenly  ringing 
the  bell,  she  said,  "  Ceci  est  insupportable ! "  and 
when  the  servant  appeared,  she  said  :  "  Tell  your 
master  to  come  upstairs  directly ;  they  have  sat 
long  enough  at  their  wine." 

*  Afterwards  Sir  Ralph  Abercromby,  later  Lord  Dunfermline,  minister 
first  at  Florence,  then  at  Turin. 


CHAPTER  XL 

LETTER  FROM  LORD  BROUGHAM  —  WRITES  "MECHANISM  OF  THE 
HEAVENS" — ANECDOTE  OF  THE  ROMAN  IMPROVISATRICE — LETTERS 
FROM  SIR  JOHN  HERSCHEL  AND  PROFESSOR  WHEWELL — ELECTED 

HON.  MEMBER  OF  THE  ROYAL  ASTRONOMICAL  SOCIETY NOTICE  IN 

THE  ACADEMIE  DBS  SCIENCES,  AND  LETTER  FROM  M.  BIOT  - 
PENSION— LETTER  FROM  SIR  ROBERT  PEEL— BEGINS  TO  WRITE  ON 
THE  CONNECTION  OF  THE  PHYSICAL  SCIENCES — VISIT  TO  CAM- 
BRIDGE— LETTERS  FROM  PROFESSOR  SEDGWICK  AND  LAPLACE. 

After  my  mother's  return  home  my  father  received 
the  following  letter  from  Lord  Brougham,  which  very 
importantly  influenced  the  further  course  of  my  mother's 
life.  It  is  dated  March  27th,  1827  : — 

LETTER  FEOM  LORD  BROUGHAM  TO  DR.  SOMERVILLE. 

"  MY  DEAR  SlR, 

I  fear  you  will  think  me  very  daring  for  the 
design  I  have  formed  against  Mrs.  Somerville,  and  still 
more  for  making  you  my  advocate  with  her ;  through 
whom  I  have  every  hope  of  prevailing.  There  will  be 
sent  to  you  a  prospectus,  rules,  and  a  preliminary  treatise 
of  our  Society  for  Diffusing  Useful  Knowledge,  and  I 
assure  you  I  speak  without  any  flattery  when  I  say  that 
of  the  two  subjects  which  I  find  it  most  difficult  to  see 


162  Mary  Somerville, 

the  chance  of  executing,  there  is  one,  which — unless  Mrs. 
Somerville  will  undertake — none  else  can,  and  it  must  be 
left  undone,  though  about  the  most  interesting  of  the 
whole,  I  mean  an  account  of  the  Mecanique  Celeste  ;  the 
other  is  an  account  of  the  Principia,  which  I  have  some 
hopes  of  at  Cambridge.  The  kind  of  thing  wanted  is 
such  a  description  of  that  divine  work  as  will  both  explain 
to  the  unlearned  the  sort  of  thing  it  is — the  plan,  the 
vast  merit,  the  wonderful  truths  unfolded  or  methodized 
—  and  the  calculus  by  which  all  this  is  accomplished,  and 
will  also  give  a  somewhat  deeper  insight  to  the  un- 
initiated. Two  treatises  would  do  this.  No  one  without 
trying  it  can  conceive  how  far  we  may  carry  ignorant 
readers  into  an  understanding  of  the  depths  of  science, 
and  our  treatises  have  about  100  to  800  pages  of  space 
each,  so  that  one  might  give  the  more  popular  view,  and 
another  the  analytical  abstracts  and  illustrations.  In 
England  there  are  now  not  twenty  people  who  know  this 
great  work,  except  by  name ;  and  not  a  hundred  who 
know  it  even  by  name.  My  firm  belief  is  that  Mrs. 
Somerville  could  add  two  cyphers  to  each  of  those 
figures.  Will  you  be  my  counsel  in  this  suit  ?  Of 
course  our  names  are  concealed,  and  no  one  of  our 
council  but  myself  needs  to  know  it. 

Yours  ever  most  truly, 

H.  BROUGHAM. 

[My  mother  in  alluding  to  the  above  says  : — 


THIS  letter  surprised  me  beyond  expression.  I 
thought  Lord  Brougham  must  have  been  mistaken 
with  regard  to  my  acquirements,  and  naturally  con- 


Diffidence.  163 

eluded  that  my  self-acquired  knowledge  was  so  far 
inferior  to  that  of  the  men  who  had  been  educated 
in  our  universities  that  it  would  be  the  height  of 
presumption  to  attempt  to  write  on  such  a  subject, 
or  indeed  on  any  other.  A  few  days  after  this  Lord 
Brougham  came  to  Chelsea  himself,  and  Somerville 
joined  with  him  in  urging  me  at  least  to  make  the 
attempt.  I  said,  "  Lord  Brougham,  you  must  be 
aware  that  the  work  in  question  never  can  be  popu- 
larized, since  the  student  must  at  least  know  some- 
thing of  the  differentia]  and  integral  calculi,  and  as 
a  preliminary  step  I  should  have  to  prove  various 
problems  in  physical  mechanics  and  astronomy. 
Besides,  La  Place  never  gives  diagrams  or  figures, 
because  they  are  not  necessary  to  persons  versed  in 
the  calculus,  but  they  would  be  indispensable  in  a 
work  such  as  you  wish  me  to  write.  I  am  afraid  I 
am  incapable  of  such  a  task  :  bat  as  you  both  wish 
it  so  much,  I  shall  do  my  very  best  upon  condition  of 
secrecy,  and  that  if  I  fail  the  manuscript  shall  be 
put  into  the  fire."  Thus  suddenly  and  unexpectedly 
the  whole  character  and  course  of  my  future  life  was 
changed. 

I  rose  early  and  made  such  arrangements  with  re- 
gard to  my  children  and  family  affairs  that  I  had  time 
to  write  afterwards  ;  not,  however,  without  many  in- 
terruptions. A  man  can  always  command  his  time 

M  2 


164  Mary  Somerville. 

under  the  plea  of  business,  a  woman  is  not  allowed 
any  such  excuse.  At  Chelsea  I  was  always  supposed 
to  be  at  home,  and  as  my  friends  and  acquaintances 
came  so  far  out  of  their  way  on  purpose  to  see  me, 
it  would  have  been  unkind  and  ungenerous  not  to 
receive  them.  Nevertheless,  I  was  sometimes  an- 
noyed when  in  the  midst  of  a  difficult  problem  some 
one  would  enter  and  say,  "  I  have  come  to  spend  a 
few  hours  with  you."  However,  I  learnt  by  habit 
to  leave  a  subject  and  resume  it  again  at  once,  like 
putting  a  mark  into  a  book  I  might  be  reading  ;  this 
was  the  more  necessary  as  there  was  no  fire-place 
in  my  little  room,  and  I  had  to  write  in  the 
drawing-room  in  winter.  Frequently  I  hid  my 
papers  as  soon  as  the  bell  announced  a  visitor,  lest 
anyone  should  discover  my  secret. 

[My  mother  had  a  singular  power  of  abstraction.  When 
occupied  with  some  difficult  problem,  or  even  a  train 
of  thought  which  deeply  interested  her,  she  lost  all  con- 
sciousness of  what  went  on  around  her,  and  became  so 
entirely  absorbed  that  any  amount  of  talking,  or  even 
practising  scales  and  solfeggi,  went  on  without  in  the 
least  disturbing  her.  Sometimes  a  song  or  a  strain  of 
melody  would  recall  her  to  a  sense  of  the  present,  for 
she  was  passionately  fond  of  music.  A  curious  instance 
of  this  peculiarity  of  hers  occurred  at  Rome,  when  a 
large  party  were  assembled  to  listen  to  a  celebrated 
improvisatrice.  My  mother  was  placed  in  the  front  row, 


The  Improvisatrice.  165 

close  to  the  poetess,  who,  for  several  stanzas,  adhered 
strictly  to  the  subject  which  had  been  given  to  her.  What 
it  was  I  do  not  recollect,  except  that  it  had  no  connec- 
tion with  what  followed.  All  at  once,  as  if  by  a  sudden 
inspiration,  the  lady  turned  her  eyes  full  upon  my  mother, 
and  with  true  Italian  vehemence  and  in  the  full  musical 
accents  of  Rome,  poured  forth  stanza  after  stanza  of  the 
most  eloquent  panegyric  upon  her  talents  and  virtues, 
extolling  them  and  her  to  the  skies.  Throughout  the 
whole  of  this  scene,  which  lasted  a  considerable  time, 
my  mother  remained  calm  and  unmoved,  never  changing 
countenance,  which  surprised  not  only  the  persons 
present  but  ourselves,  as  we  well  knew  how  much  she 
disliked  any  display  or  being  brought  forward  in  public. 
The  truth  was,  that  after  listening  for  a  while  to  the 
improvising,  a  thought  struck  her  connected  with  some 
subject  she  was  engaged  in  writing  upon  at  the  time  and 
so  entirely  absorbed  her  that  she  heard  not  a  word  of  all 
that  had  been  declaimed  in  her  praise,  and  was  not  a 
little  surprised  and  confused  when  she  was  complimented 
on  it.  I  call  this,  advisedly,  a  power  of  hers,  for  although 
it  occasionally  led  her  into  strange  positions,  such  as  the 
one  above  mentioned,  it  rendered  her  entirely  indepen- 
dent of  outward  circumstances,  nor  did  she  require  to 
isolate  herself  from  the  family  circle  in  order  to  pursue 
her  studies.  I  have  already  mentioned  that  when  we 
were  very  young  she  taught  us  herself  for  a  few  hours 
daily ;  when  our  lessons  were  over  we  always  remained 
in  the  room  with  her,  learning  grammar,  arithmetic,  or 
some  such  plague  of  childhood.  Any  one  who  has 
plunged  into  the  mazes  of  the  higher  branches  of 
mathematics  or  other  abstruse  science,  would  probably 
feel  no  slight  degree  of  irritation  on  being  inter- 


166  Mary  Somerville. 

rupted  at  a  critical  moment  when  the  solution  was 
almost  within  his  grasp,  by  some  childish  question 
about  tense  or  gender,  or  how  much  seven  times 
seven  made.  My  mother  was  never  impatient,  but 
explained  our  little  difficulties  quickly  and  kindly, 
and  returned  calmly  to  her  own  profound  thoughts. 
Yet  on  occasion  she  could  show  both  irritation  and 
impatience — when  we  were  stupid  or  inattentive,  neither 
of  which  she  could  stand.  With  her  clear  mind  she 
darted  at  the  solution,  sometimes  forgetting  that  we  had 
to  toil  after  her  laboriously  step  by  step.  I  well  remem- 
ber her  slender  white  hand  pointing  impatiently  to  the 
book  or  slate — "  Don't  you  see  it?  there  is  no  difficulty 
in  it,  it  is  quite  clear."  Things  were  so  clear  to  her !  I 
must  here  add  some  other  recollections  by  my  mother  of 
this  very  interesting  portion  of  her  life. 


I  was  a  considerable  time  employed  in  writing  this 
book,  but  I  by  no  means  gave  up  society,  which 
would  neither  have  suited  Somerville  nor  me.  We 
dined  out,  went  to  evening  parties,  and  occasionally 
to  the  theatre.  As  soon  as  my  work  was  finished  I 
sent  the  manuscript  to  Lord  Brougham,  requesting 
that  it  might  be  thoroughly  examined,  criticised  and 
destroyed  according  to  promise  if  a  failure.  I  was 
very  nervous  while  it  was  under  examination,  and 
was  equally  surprised  and  gratified  that  Sir  John 
Herschel,  our  greatest  astronomer,  and  perfectly 
versed  in  the  calculus,  should  have  found  so  few 


Herschel's  Approval.  167 

errors.  The  letter  he  wrote  on  this  occasion  made 
me  so  happy  and  proud  that  I  have  preserved  it. 

LETTER  FROM  SIR  JOHK  HERSCHEL  TO  MRS.  SOMERVILLE. 

DEAR  MRS.   SOMERVILLE, 

I  have  read  your  manuscript  with  the  greatest 
pleasure,  and  will  not  hesitate  to  add,  (because  I  am  sure 
you  will  believe  it  sincere,)  with  the  highest  admiration. 
Go  on  thus,  and  you  will  leave  a  memorial  of  no  common 
kind  to  posterity ;  and,  what  you  will  value  far  more 
than  fame,  you  will  have  accomplished  a  most  useful 
work.  What  a  pity  that  La  Place  has  not  lived  to  see 
this  illustration  of  his  great  work !  You  will  only,  I  fear, 
give  too  strong  a  stimulus  to  the  study  of  abstract  science 
by  this  performance. 

I  have  marked  as  somewhat  obscure  a  part  of  the 

illustration  of  the  principle  of  virtual  velocities 

Will  you  look  at  this  point  again?  I  have  made  a 
trifling  remark  in  page  6,  but  it  is  a  mere  matter  of 
metaphysical  nicety,  and  perhaps  hardly  worth  pencilling 
your  beautiful  manuscript  for. 

Ever  yours  most  truly, 

J.  HERSCHEL. 

[In  publishing  the  following  letter,  I  do  not  consider 
that  I  am  infringing  on  the  rule  I  have  followed  in  obedi- 
ence to  my  mother's  wishes,  that  is,  to  abstain  from 
giving  publicity  to  all  letters  which  are  of  a  private  and 
confidential  character.  This  one  entirely  concerns  her 
scientific  writings,  and  is  interesting  as  showing  the  con- 
fidence which  existed  between  Sir  John  Herschel  and 


163  Mary  Somerville. 

herself.  This  great  philosopher  was  my  mother's  truest 
and  best  friend,  one  whose  opinion  she  valued  above  all 
others,  whose  genius  and  consummate  talents  she  ad- 
mired, and  whose  beautiful  character  she  loved  with  an 
intensity  which  is  better  shown  by  some  extracts  from 
her  letters  to  be  given  presently  than  by  anything  I  can 
say.  This  deep  regard  on  her  part  he  returned  with  the 
most  chivalrous  respect  and  admiration.  In  any  doubt 
or  difficulty  it  was  his  advice  she  sought,  his  criticism 
she  submitted  to  ;  both  were  always  frankly  given  with- 
out the  slightest  fear  of  giving  offence,  for  Sir  John 
Herschel  well  knew  the  spirit  with  which  any  remarks  of 
his  would  be  received. 


FROM   SIR  JOHN  HERSCHEL  TO   MRS.  SOMERVILLE. 

SLOUGH,  Feb.  23/-rf,  1830. 

MY  DEAR  MRS.  SOMERVILLE, 

As    you    contemplate     separate 

publication,  and  as  the  attention  of  many  will  be  turned 
to  a  work  from  your  pen  who  will  just  possess  quantum 
enough  of  mathematical  knowledge  to  be  able  to  read  the 
first  chapter  without  being  able  to  follow  you  into  its 
application,  and  as  these,  moreover,  are  the  very  people 
who  will  think  themselves  privileged  to  criticise  and  use 
their  privilege  with  the  least  discretion,  I  cannot  recom- 
mend too  much  clearness,  fulness,  and  order  in  the 
expose  of  the  principles.  Were  I  you,  I  would  devote  to 
this  first  part  at  least  double  the  space  you  have  done 
Your  familiarity  with  the  results  and  formula  has  led  you 
into  what  is  extremely  natural  in  such  a  case — a  somewhat 
hasty  passing  over  what,  to  a  beginner,  would  prove 


HerscheFs  Advice.  169 

insuperable  difficulties ;.  and  if  I  may  so  express  it,  a 
sketchiness  of  outline  (as  a  painter  you  will  understand 
my  meaning,  and  what  is  of  more  consequence,  see  how 
it  is  to  be  remedied). 

You  have  adopted,  I  see,  the  principle  of  virtual  velocity, 
and  the  principle  of  d'Alembert,  rather  as  separate  and 
independent  principles  to  be  used  as  instruments  of 
investigation  than  as  convenient  theories,  flowing  them- 
selves from  the  general  law  of  force  and  equilibrium, 
to  be  first  proved  and  then  remembered  as  compact 
statements  in  a -form  fit  for  use.  The  demonstration  of 
the  principle  of  virtual  velocities  is  so  easy  and  direct 
in  Laplace  that  I  cannot  imagine  anything  capable  of 
rendering  it  plainer  than  he  has  done.  But  a  good  deal 
more  explanation  of  what  is  virtual  velocity,  &c.,  would  be 
advantageous — and  virtual  velocities  should  be  kept  quite 
distinct  from  the  arbitrary  variations  represented  by  the 
sign  8. 

With  regard  to  the  principle  of  d'Alembert — take  my 
advice  and  explode  it  altogether.  It  is  the  most  awkward 
and  involved  statement  of  a  plain  dynamical  equation 
that  ever  puzzled  student.  I  speak  feelingly  and  with  a 
sense  of  irritation  at  the  whirls  and  vortices  it  used  to 
cause  in  my  poor  head  when  first  I  entered  on  this 
subject  in  my  days  of  studentship.  I  know  not  a  single 
case  where  its  application  does  not  create  obscurity — nay 
doubt.  Nor  can  a  case  ever  occur  where  any  such 
principle  is  called  for.  The  general  law  that  the  change 
of  motion  is  proportional  to  the  moving  force  and  takes 
place  in  its  direction,  provided  we  take  care  always  to 
regard  the  reaction  of  curves,  surfaces,  obstacles,  &c.,  as 
so  many  real  moving  forces  of  (for  a  time)  unknown 
magnitude,  will  always  help  us  out  of  any  dynamical 


170  Mary  Somerville. 

scrape  we  may  get  into.  Laplace,  page  20,  Mec.  Cel.  art. 
7,  is  a  little  obscure  here,  and  in  deriving  his  equation 
(/)  a  page  of  explanation  would  be  well  bestowed. 

One  thing  let  me  recommend,  if  you  use  as  principles 
either  this,  or  that  of  virtual  velocities,  or  any  other,  state 

them  broadly  and  in  general  terms 

You  will  think  me,  I  fear,  a  rough  critic,  but  I  think  of 
Horace's  good  critic, 

Fiet  Aristarchus  :  nee  dicet,  cur  ego  amicum 
Offendam  in  nugis  ?  Hae  nugae  seria  ducent 
In  mala, 

and  what  we  can  both  now  laugh  at,  and  you  may,  if  you 
like,  burn  as  nonsense  (I  mean  these  remarks)  ^would  come 
with  a  very  different  kind  of  force  from  some  sneering 
reviewer  in  the  plenitude  of  his  triumph  at  the  detection 
of  a  slip  of  the  pen  or  one  of  those  little  inaccuracies 

which  humana  pamm  cavit  natura 

Very  faithfully  yours, 

J.  HERSCHEL. 


[About  the  same  time  my  father  received  a  letter  from 
Dr.  Whewell,  afterwards  Master  of  Trinity  College, 
Cambridge,  dated  2nd  November,  1831,  in  which  he 
says : — 

"  I  beg  you  to  offer  my  best  thanks  to  Mrs.  Somerville 
for  her  kind  present.  I  shall  have  peculiar  satisfaction 
in  possessing  it  as  a  gift  of  the  author,  a  book  which  I 
look  upon  as  one  of  the  most  remarkable  which  our  age 
has  produced,  which  would  be  highly  valuable  from  any- 
one, and  which  derives  a  peculiar  interest  from  its  writer. 


Dr.   WhewelFs  Sonnet.  171 

I  am  charged  also  to  return  the  thanks  of  the  Philosophi- 
cal Society  here  for  the  copy  presented  to  them.  I  have 
not  thought  it  necessary  to  send  the  official  letter  con- 
taining the  acknowledgment,  as  Mrs.  Somerville  will 
probably  have  a  sufficient  collection  of  specimens  of  such 
character.  1  nave  also  to  thank  her  on  the  part  of  our 
College  for  the  copy  sent  to  the  library.  I  am  glad  that 
our  young  mathematicians  in  Trinity  will  have  easy  access 
to  the  book,  which  will  be  very  good  for  them  as  soon  as 
they  can  read  it.  When  Mrs.  Somerville  shows  herself 
in  the  field  which  we  mathematicians  have  been  labouring 
in  all  our  lives,  and  puts  us  to  shame,  she  ought  not  to 
be  surprised  if  we  move  off  to  other  ground,  and  betake 
ourselves  to  poetry.  If  the  fashion  of  '  commendatory 
verses'  were  not  gone  by,  I  have  no  doubt  her  work 
might  have  appeared  with  a  very  pretty  collection  of 
well-deserved  poetical  praises  in  its  introductory  pages. 
As  old  customs  linger  longest  in  places  like  this,  I  hope 
she  and  you  will  not  think  it  quite  extravagant  to  send  a 
single  sonnet  on  the  occasion. 

"  Believe  me, 

"Faithfully  yours, 

"W.  WHEWELL." 

TO  MRS.  SOMERVILLE, 
ON  HER  "MECHANISM  OF  THE  HEAVENS.** 

LADY,  it  was  the  wont  in  earlier  days 
When  some  fair  volume  from  a  valued  pen, 
Long  looked  for,  came  at  last,  that  grateful  men 
Hailed  its  forthcoming  in  complacent  lays  : 
As  if  the  Muse  would  gladly  haste  to  praise 
That  which  her  mother,  Memory,  long  should  keep 
Among  her  treasures.     Shall  such  usage  sleep 
With  us,  who  feel  too  slight  the  common  phrase 


172  Mary  Somerville*          , 

For  our  pleased  thoughts  of  you,  when  thus  we  find 

That  dark  to  you  seems  bright,  perplexed  seems  plain, 

Seen  in  the  depths  of  a  pellucid  mind, 

Full  of  clear  thought,  pure  from  the  ill  and  vain 

That  cloud  the  inward  light  ?    An  honoured  name 

Be  yours  ;  and  peace  of  heart  grow  with  your  growing  fame. 

[Professor  Peacock,  afterwards  Dean  of  Ely,  in  a  letter, 
dated  February  14th,  1832,  thanked  my  mother  for  a 
copy  of  the  "  Mechanism  of  the  Heavens." 

4 

LETTER  FROM  PROFESSOR  PEACOCK  TO  MRS.  SOMERVILLE. 

"  I  consider  it  to  be  a  work  which  will  contribute 
greatly  to  the  extension  of  the  knowledge  of  physical 
astronomy,  in  this  country,  and  of  the  great  analytical 
processes  which  have  been  employed  in  such  investiga- 
tions. It  is  with  this  view  that  I  consider  it  to  be  a 
work  of  the  greatest  value  and  importance.  Dr.  Whewell 
and  myself  have  already  taken  steps  to  introduce  it  into 
the  course  of  our  studies  at  Cambridge,  and  I  have  little 
doubt  that  it  will  immediately  become  an  essential  work 
to  those  of  our  students  who  aspire  to  the  highest  places 
in  our  examinations." 

[On  this  my  mother  remarks  :— 


I  consider  this  as  the  highest  honour  I  ever 
received,  at  the  time  I  was  no  less  sensible  of 
it,  and  was  most  grateful.  I  was  surprised  and 
pleased  beyond  measure  to  find  that  my  book 
should  be  so  much  approved  of  by  Dr.  Whewell, 
one  of  the  most  eminent  men  of  the  age  for 


Professor  Peacock.  178 

science  and  literature ;  and  by  Professor  Peacock,  a 
profound  mathematician,  who  with  Herschel  and 
Babbage  had,  a  few- years  before,  first  introduced  the 
calculus  as  an  essential  branch  of  science  into  the 
University  of  Cambridge. 

In  consequence  of  this  decision  the  whole  edition 
of  the  "  Mechanism  of  the  Heavens,"  amounting  to 
750  copies,  was  sold  chiefly  at  Cambridge,  with  the 
exception  of  a  very  few  which  I  gave  to  friends ; 
but  as  the  preface  was  the  only  part  of  the  work 
that  was  intelligible  to  the  general  reader,  1  had 
some  copies  of  it  printed  separately  to  give  away. 

I  was  astonished  at  the  success  of  my  book;  all 
the  reviews  of  it  were  highly  favourable  ;  I  received 
letters  of  congratulation  from  many  men  of  science. 
I  was  elected  an  honorary  member  of  the  Royal 
Astronomical  Society  at  the  same  time  as  Miss 
Caroline  Herschel.  To  be  associated  with  so  distin- 
guished an  astronomer  was  in  itself  an  honour. 
Mr.  De  Morgan,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  many 
excellent  mathematical  works,  was  then  secretary  of 
the  society,  and  announced  to  us  the  distinction 
conferred.  The  council  of  the  Society  ordered  that 
a  copy  of  the  "  Greenwich  Observations  "  should  be 
regularly  sent  to  me.  „ 

[The  Academie  des  Sciences  elected  my  mother's  old 
friend  M.  Biotto  draw  up  a  report  upon  her  "Mechanism 


174  Mary  Some?ville. 

of  the  Heavens,"  which  he  did  in  the  most  flattering 
terms,  and  upon  my  mother  writing  to  thank  him,  replied 
as  follows : — 

FROM  M.  BIOT  TO  MRS.  SOMERVILLE. 

MADAME, 

Revenu  de  Lyon  depuis  quelques  jours,  j'ai  trouve 
a  Paris  les  deux  lettres  dont  vous  avez  daigne  m'honorer, 
et  j'ai  regu  egklement  1'exemplaire  de  votre  ouvrage  que 
vous  avez  bien  voulu  joindre  a  la  derniere.  C'est  etre 
mille  fois  trop  bonne,  Madame,  que  de  me  remercier  en- 
sore  de  ce  %qui  m'a  fait  tant  de  plaisir.  En  rendant 
compte  de  cet  etonnant  Traite,  je  remplissais  d'abord  un 
devoir,  puisque  1'Academie  m'avait  charge  de  le  lire  pour 
elle ;  mais  ce  devoir  m'oifrait  un  attrait  que  vous  con- 
cevriez  facilement,  s'il  vous  etait  possible  de  vous  rappeler 
I'admiration  vive  et  profonde  que  m'inspira  il  y  a  long- 
terns  1'union  si  extraordinaire  de  tons  les  talens  et  de 
toutes  les  graces,  avec  les  connaissances  severes  que 
nous  autres  homines  avions  la  folie  de  croire  notre 
partage  exclusif.  Ce  qui  me  charma  alors,  Madame,  je 
n'ai  pas  cesse  depuis  de  m'en  souvenir ;  et  des  rapports 
d'amitie  qui  me  sont  bien  chers,  out  encore,  a  votre  inscu, 
fortifie  ces  sentimens.  Jugez  done,  Madame,  combien 
j'etais  heureux  d'avoir  a  peindre  ce  que  je  comprenais  si 
bien,  et  ce  que  j'avais  vu  avec  un  si  vif  interet.  Le  plus 
amusant  pour  moi  de  cette  rencontre,  c'etait  de  voir 
nos  plus  graves  confreres,  par  exemple,  Lacroix  et 
Legendre,  qui  certes  ne  sont  pas  des  esprits  legers,  ni 
galans  d'habitude,  ni  faciles  a  emouvoir,,me  gourmander, 
comnie  ils  le  faisaient  a  chaque  seance,  de  ce  que  je  tar- 
dais  tant  a  faire  mon  rapport,  de  ce  que  j'y  mettais  tant 


Dr.  Biot.  175 

cTinsouciance  et  si  peu  de  grace ;  enfin,  Madame,  c'etait 
une  conquete  intellectuelle  complete.  Je  n'ai  pas  manque 
de  raconter  cette  circ.onstance  comme  un  des  fleurons  de 
votre  couronne.  Je  me  suis  ainsi  acquitte  envers  eux ; 
et  quant  a  vous,  Madame,  d'apres  la  maniere  dont  vous 
parlez  vous-meme  de  votre  ouvrage,  j'ai  quelque  esperance 
de  1' avoir  presente  sous  le  point  de  vue  oil  vous  semblez 
Fenvisager.  Mais,  en  vous  rendant  ce  juste  et  sincere 
hommage  et  en  Finserant  au  Journal  des  Savans,  je  n'ai 
pas  eu  la  precaution  de  demander  qu'on  m'en  mit  a  part ; 
aujourd'liui  que  la  collection  est  tiree  je  suis  aux  regrets 
d'avoir  ete  si  peu  prevoyant.  Au  reste,  Madame,  il  n'y  a 
rien  dans  cet  extrait  que  ce  que  pensent  tous  ceux  qui 
vous  connaissent,  ou  meme  qui  ont  eu  une  seule  fois  le 
bonheur  de  vous  approcher.  Vos  amis  trouveront  que 
j'ai  exprime  bien  faiblement  les  charmes  de  votre  esprit  et 
de  votre  caractere;  charmes  qu'ils  doivent  apprecier 
d'autant  mieux  qu'ils  en  jouissent  plus  souvent ;  mais 
vous,  Madame,  qui  etes  indulgente,  vous  pardonnerez  la 
faiblesse  d'un  portrait  qui  n'a  pu  etre  fait  que  de  sou- 
venir. 

J'ai  1'honneur  d'etre,  avec  le  plus  profond  respect, 

Madame, 

Votre  tres  humble  et  tres  obeissant  serviteur, 

BIOT. 


It  was  unanimously  voted  by  the  Eoyal  Society 
of  London,  that  my  bust  should  be  placed  in  their 
great  Hall,  and  Chantrey  was  chosen  as  the  sculptor. 
Soon  after  it  was  finished,  Mr.  Potter,  a  grea.t  ship- 


176  Mary  Somerville. 

builder  at  Liverpool,  who  had  just  completed  a  fine 
vessel  intended  for  the  China  and  India  trade,  wrote 
to  my  friend,  Sir  Francis  Beaufort,  hydrographer  of 
the  Royal  Navy,  asking  him  if  I  would  give  him 
permission  to  call  her  the  "Mary  Somerville,"  and 
to  have  a  copy  of  my  bust  for  her  figure-head.  I 
was  much  gratified  with  this,  as  might  be  expected. 
The  "Mary  Somerville"  sailed,  but  was  never  heard 
of  again  ;  it  was  supposed  she  had  foundered  during 
a  typhoon  in  the  China  sea. 

I  was  elected  an  honorary  member  of  the  Royal 
Academy  at  Dublin,  of  the  Bristol  Philosophical 
Institution,  and  of  the  Socie'te  de  Physique  et 
d'Histoire  Naturelle  of  Geneva,  which  was  an- 
nounced to  me  by  a  very  gratifying  letter  from 
Professor  Prevost. 

Our  relations  and  others  who  had  so  severely 
criticized  and  ridiculed  me,  astonished  at  my  suc- 
cess, were  now  loud  in  my  praise.  The  warmth 
-with  which  Somerville  entered  into  my  success 
deeply  affected  me ;  for  not  one  in  ten  thousand 
would  have  rejoiced  at  it  as  he  did ,  but  he  was  of 
a  generous  nature,  far  above  jealousy,  and  he  con- 
tinued through  life  to  take  the  kindest  interest  in 
all  I  did. 

I  now  received  the  following  letter  from  Sir 
Robert  Peel,  informing  me  in  the  handsomest 


Sir  Robert  Peel.  177 

manner  that  he  had   advised   the   King  to  grant 
me  a  pension  of  200Z.  a  year  : — 

LETTER  FROM  SIR  ROBERT  PEEL  TO  MRS.   S.OMERVILLE. 

WHITEHALL  GARDENS, 

March,  1835. 
MADAM, 

.In  advising  the  Crown  in  respect  to  the  grant 
of  civil  pensions,  I  have  acted  equally  with  a  sense  of 
public  duty  and  on  the  impulse  of  my  own  private 
feelings  in  recognising  among  the  first  claims  on  the 
Royal  favour  those  which  are  derived  from  eminence  ID 
science  and  literature. 

In  reviewing  such  claims,  it  is  impossible  that  I  can 
overlook  those  which  you  have  established  by  the 
successful  prosecution  of  studies  of  the  highest  order, 
both  from  the  importance  of  the  objects  to  which  they 
relate,  and  from  the  faculties  and  acquirements  which 
they  demand. 

As  my  object  is  a  public  one,  to  encourage  others  to 
follow  the  bright  example  which  you  have  set,  and  to 
prove  that  great  scientific  attainments  are  recognised 
among  public  claims,  I  prefer  making  a  direct  communi- 
cation to  you,  to  any  private  inquiries  into  your  pecuniary 
circumstances,  or  to  any  proposal  through  a  third  party. 
I  am  enabled  to  advise  His  Majesty  to  grant  to  you  a 
pension  on  the  civil  list  of  two  hundred  pounds  per 
annum ;  and  if  that  provision  will  enable  you  to  pursue 
your  labours  with  less  of  anxiety,  either  as  to  the  present 
or  the  future,  I  shall  only  be  fulfilling  a  public  duty,  and 
not  imposing  upon  you  the  slightest  obligation,  by 


178  Mary  Somerville. 

availing  myself  of  your  permission   to  submit   such   a 
recommendation  to  the  King. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be, 
Madam,  with  the  sincerest  respect, 

EGBERT  PEEL. 


I  was  highly  pleased,  but  my  pleasure  was  of  short 
duration,  for  the  very  next  day  a  letter  informed 
us  that  by  the  treachery  of  persons  in  whom  we 
trusted,  the  last  remains  of  our  capital  were  lost. 
By  the  kindness  of  Lord  John  Kussell,  when  he 
was  Prime  Minister,  a  hundred  a-year  was  added  to 
my  pension,  for  which  I  was  very  grateful. 

***** 

After  the  "  Mechanism  of  the  Heavens  "  was  pub- 
lished, I  was  thrown  out  of  work,  and  now  that  I 
had  got  into  the  habit  of  writing  I  did  not  know 
what  to  make  of  my  spare  time.  Fortunately  the 
preface  of  my  book  furnished  me  with  the  means 
of  active  occupation ;  for  in  it  I  saw  such  mutual 
dependence  and  connection  in  many  branches  of 
science,  that  I  thought  the  subject  might  be  carried 
to  a  greater  extent. 

There  were  many  subjects  with  which  I  was  only 
partially  acquainted,  and.  others  of  which  I  had  no 
previous  knowledge,  but  which  required  to  be  care- 
fully investigated,  so  I  had  to  consult  a  variety  of 


Cambridge.  179 

authors,  British  and  foreign.  Even  the  astronomical 
part  was  difficult,  for  I  had  to  translate  analytical 
formulae  into  intelligible  language,  and  to  draw 
diagrams  illustrative  thereof,  and  this  occupied  the 
first  seven  sections  of  the  book.  I  should  have  been 
saved  much  trouble  had  I  seen  a  work  on  the  subject 
by  Mr.  Airy,  Astronomer-Koyal,  published  sub- 
sequently to  my  book. 

My  son,  Woronzow  Greig,  had  been  educated  at 
Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  and  was  travelling  on 
the  Continent,  when  Somerville  and  I  received  an 
invitation  from  the  Principal,  Dr.  Whewell,  to  visit 
the  University.  Mr.  Airy,  then  astronomer  at 
Cambridge,  now  Astronomer- Royal  at  Greenwich, 
and  Mrs.  Airy  kindly  wished  us  to  be  their  guests ; 
but  as  the  Observatory  was  at  some  distance  from 
Cambridge,  it  was  decided  that  we  should  have  an 
apartmeDt  in  Trinity  College  itself ;  an  unusual 
favour  where  a  lady  is  concerned.  Mr.  Sedgwick, 
the  geologist,  made  the  arrangements,  received  us, 
and  we  spent  the  first  day  at  dinner  with  him.  He 
is  still  alive* — one  of  my  few  coevals — either  in 
Cambridge  or  England.  The  week  we  spent  in 
Cambridge,  receiving  every  honour  from  the  heads 
of  the  University,  was  a  period  of  which  I  have 
ever  borne  a  proud  and  grateful  remembrance. 

*  Professor  Sedgwick  died  shortly  after  my  mother. 

N  2 


180  Mary    Somerville. 

[Professor  Sedgwick  wrote  as  follows  to  my  father  : — 

FROM  PROFESSOR   SEDGWICK   TO   DR.  SOMERVILLE. 

TRINITY  COLLEGE,  April,  1834. 

MY  DEAR  SOMERVILLE, 

Your  letter  delighted  us.  I  have  ordered  dinner 
on  Thursday  at  6|-  and  shall  have  a  small  party  to 
welcome  you  and  Mrs.  Somerville.  In  order  that  we 
maj'  not  have  to  fight  for  you,  we  have  been  entering  on 
the  best  arrangements  we  can  think  of.  On  Tuesday  you 
will,  I  hope,  dine  with  Peacock ;  on  Wednesday  with 
Whewell ;  on  Thursday  at  the  Observatory.  For  Friday, 
Dr.  Clarke,  our  Professor  of  Anatomy,  puts  in  a  claim. 
For  the  other  days  of  your  visit  we  shall,  D.V.,  find  ample 
employment.  A  four-poster  bed  now  (a  thing  utterly  out 
of  our  regular  monastic  system)  will  rear  its  head  for  you 
and  Madame  in  the  chambers  immediately  below  my 
own ;  and  your  handmaid  may  safely  rest  her  bones  in  a 
small  inner  chamber.  Should  Sheepshanks  return,  we 
can  stuff  him  into  a  lumber  room  of  the  observatory  ;  but 
of  this  there  is  no  fear  as  I  have  written  to  him  on  the 
subject,  and  he  has  no  immediate  intention  of  returning. 
You  will  of  course  drive  to  the  great  gate  of  Trinity 
College,  and  my  servant  will  be  in  waiting  at  the  Porter's 
lodge  to  show  you  the  way  to  your  academic  residence. 
We  have  no  cannons  at  Trinity  College,  otherwise  we 
would  fire  a  salute  on  your  entry ;  we  will  however  give 
you  the  warmest  greeting  we  can.  Meanwhile  give  my 
best  regards  to  Mrs.  S. 

And  believe  me  most  truly  yours, 

A.  SEDGWICK. 


La  Place.  181 

La  Place  had  a  profound  veneration  for  Newton  ; 
he  sent  me  a  copy  of  his  "  Systeme  du  Monde,"  and 
a  letter,  dated  15th  August,  1824,  in  which  he  says : 
"  Je  public  successivement  les  divers  livres  du  cin- 
quieme  livre  qui  doit  terminer  mon  traite  de 
'Mecanique  Celeste,'  et  dans  cela  je  donne Tanalyse 
historiqus  des  recherches  des  geometres  sur  cette 
matiere,  cela  m'a  fait  relire  avec  une  attention  par- 
ticuliere  1'ouvrage  si  incomparable  des  principes 
mathematiques  de  la  philosophic  naturelle  de  Newton, 
qui  contient  le  ge^me  de  toutes  ses  recherches.  Plus 
j'ai  etudie  cet  ouvrage  plus  il  m'a  paru  admirable, 
en  me  transportant  surtout  k  Te'poque  ou  il  a  6t6 
publid.  Mais  en  meme  terns  que  je  sens  I'elegance 
de  la  me'thode  synthetique  suivant  laquelle  Newton 
a  present^  ses  decouvertes,  j'ai  reconnu  1'indispen- 
sable  necessite  de  Tanalyse  pour  approfondir  les 
questions  tres  difficiles  que  Newton  n'a  pu  qu'effleurer 
par  la  synthese.  Je  vois  avec  un  grand  plaisir  vos 
mathematiciens  se  livrer  maintenant  a  1'analyse  et 
je  ne  doute  point  qu'en  suivant  cette  methode  avec 
la  sagacite  propre  a  votre  nation  ils  ne  seront  con- 
duits a  d'importantes  decouvertes." 

Newton  himself  was  aware  that  by  the  law  of 
gravitation  the  stability  of  the  solar  system  was 
endangered.  The  power  of  analysis  alone  enabled 
La  Grange  to  prove  that  all  the  disturbances  arising 


182  Mary  Somerville. 

from  the  reciprocal  attraction  of  the  planets  and 
satellites  are  periodical,  whatever  the  length  of  the 
periods  may  be,  so  that  the  stability  of  the  solar 
system  is  insured  for  unlimited  ages.  The  pertur- 
bations are  only  the  oscillations  of  that  immense 
pendulum  of  Eternity  which  beats  centuries  as  ours 
beats  seconds. 

La  Place,  and  all  the  great  mathematicians  of  that 
period,  had  scarcely  passed  away  when  the  more 
powerful  Quaternion  system  began  to  dawn. 


CHAPTEK  XII. 

PARIS — ARAGO,  LAFAYETTE,  MM.  BOTJVARD,  POISSON,  LACROIX,  &0., 
MARQUISE  DE  LAPLACE,  DUP1N,  P.  COOPER — LEGITIMISTS  SOCIETY 
— MAJENDIE— VISIT  BARON  LOUIS — LETTER  PROM  LAFAYETTE. 

MY  health  was  never  good  at  Chelsea,  and  as  I  had 
been  working  too  hard,  I  became  so  ill,  that  change 
of  air  and  scene  were  thought  absolutely  necessary 
for  me.  We  went  accordingly  to  Paris ;  partly,  because 
it  was  near  home,  as  Somerville  could  not  remain 
long  with  us  at  a  time,  and,  partly,  because  we 
thought  it  a  good  opportunity  to  give  masters  to 
the  girls,  which  we  could  not  afford  to  do  in  London. 
When  we  arrived,  I  was  so  weak,  that  I  always 
remained  in  bed  writing  till  one  o'clock,  and  then, 
either  went  to  sit  in  the  Tuileries  gardens,  or  else 
received  visits.  All  my  old  friends  came  to  see  me, 
Arago,  the  first.  He  was  more  engaged  in  politics 
than  science,  and  as  party  spirit  ran  very  high  at 
that  time,  he  said  he  would  send  tickets  of  admission 
to  the  Chambers  every  time  there  was  likely  to  be 
an  "  orage."  When  I  told  him  what  I  was  writing, 


184  Mary  Somerville. 

he  gave  me  some  interesting  memoirs,  and  lent  me 
a  mass  of  manuscripts,  with  leave  to  make  extracts, 
which  were  very  useful  to  me.  General  de  La 
Fayette  came  to  town  on  purpose  to  invite 
Somerville  and  me  to  visit  him  at  La  Grange, 
where  we  found  him  living  like  a  patriarch,  sur- 
rounded by  his  family  to  the  fourth  generation. 
He  was  mild,  highly  distinguished,  and  noble  in  his 
manners ;  his  conversation  was  exceedingly  in- 
teresting, as  he  readily  spoke  of  the  Eevolution  in 
which  he  had  taken  so  active  a  part.  Among  other 
anecdotes,  he  mentioned,  that  he  had  sent  the  prin- 
cipal key  of  the  Ba stile  to  General  Washington, 
who  kept  it  under  a  glass  case.  He  was  much  in- 
terested to  hear  that  I  could,  in  some  degree,  claim 
a  kind  of  relationship  with  Washington,  whose 
.mother  was  a  Fairfax.  Baron  Fairfax,  the  head  of 
the  family,  being  settled  in  America,  had  joined 
the  independent  party  at  the  Revolution. 

The  two  daughters  of  La  Fayette,  who  had  been 
in  prison  with  him  at  Olmiitz,  were  keen  politicians, 
and  discussed  points  with  a  warmth  of  gesticulation 
which  amused  Somerville  and  me,  accustomed  to 
our  cold  still  manners.  The  grand-daughters, 
Mesdames  de  Remusat  and  de  Corcelles,  were 
kind  friends  to  me  all  the  time  I  was  in  Paris. 

M.  Bouvard,  whom  we  had  known  in  London, 


French  Savants.  185 

was  now  Astronomer-Royal  of  France,  and  he  invited 
us  to  dine  with  him  at  the  Observatory.  The  table 
was  surrounded  by  savants,  who  complimented  me 
on  the  "  Mechanism  of  the  Heavens."  I  sat  next 
M.  Poisson,  who  advised  me  in  the  strongest  manner 
to  write  a  second  volume,  so  as  to  complete  the 
account  of  La  Place's  works ;  and  he  afterwards 
told  Somerville,  that  there  were  not  twenty  men  in 
France  who  could  read  my  book.  M.  Arago,  who 
was  of  the  party,  said,  he  had  not  written  to  thank 
me  for  my  book,  because  he  had  been  reading  it,  and 
was  busy  preparing  an  account  of  it  for  the  Journal 
of  the  Institute.  At  this  party,  I  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  the  celebrated  astronomer,  M.  Pontecoulant, 
and  soon  after,  of  M.  La  Croix,  to  whose  works  I  was 
indebted  for  my  knowledge  of  the  highest  branches 
of  mathematics.  M.  Prony,  and  M.  Poinsot,  came 
to  visit  me,  the  latter,  an  amiable  and  gentlemanly 
person  ;  both  gave  me  a  copy  of  their  works. 

We  had  a  long  visit  from  M.  Biot,  who  seemed 
really  glad  to  renew  our  old  friendship.  He  was 
making  experiments  on  light,  though  much  out  of 
health ;  but  when  we  dined  with  him  and  Madame 
Biot,  he  forgot  for  the  time  his  bad  health,  and  re- 
sumed his  former  gaiety.  They  made  us  promise 
to  visit  them  at  their  country-house  when  we  re- 
turned to  England,  as  it  lay  on  our  road. 


186  Mary  Somerville. 

To  my  infinite  regret,  La  Place  had  been  dead 
some  time ;  the  Marquise  was  still  at  Arcoeuil,  and 
we  went  to  see  her.  She  received  us  with  the 
greatest  warmth,  and  devoted  herself  to  us  the 
whole  time  we  were  in  Paris.  As  soon  as  she  came 
to  town,  we  went  to  make  a  morning  visit ;  it  was 
past  five  o'clock ;  we  were  shown  into  a  beautiful 
drawing-room,  and  the  man-servant,  without  knock- 
ing at  the  door,  went  into  the  room  which  was 
adjacent,  and  we  heard  her  call  out,  "  J'irai  la  voir ! 
j'irai  la  voir ! "  and  when  the  man-servant  came 
out,  he  said,  "  Madame  est  de'sole'e,  mais  elle  est  en 
chemise."  Madame  de  La  Place  was  exceedingly 
agreeable,  the  life  of  every  party,  with  her  cheerful 
gay  manner.  She  was  in  great  favour  with  the 
Royal  Family,  and  was  always  welcome  when  she 
went  to  visit  them  in  an  evening.  She  received 
once  a  week,  and  her  grand-daughter,  only  nineteen, 
lovely  and  graceful,  was  an  ornament  to  her  parties. 
She  was  already  married  to  M.  de  Colbert,  whose 
father  fell  at  Corunna. 

No  one  was  more  attentive  to  me  than  Dr. 
Milne-Edwards,  the  celebrated  natural  historian. 
He  was  the  first  Englishman  who  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  Institute.  I  was  indebted 
to  him  for  the  acquaintance  of  MM.  Ampere  and 
Becquerel.  I  believe  Dr.  Edwards  was  at  that  time 


Female  Society.  187 

writing  on  Physiology,  and,  in  conversation,  I  hap- 
pened to  mention  that  the  wild  ducks  in  the  fens,  at 
Lincolnshire,  always  build  their  nests  on  high  tufts 
of  grass,  or  reeds,  to  save  them  from  sudden  floods ; 
and  that  Sir  John  Sebright  had  raised  wild  ducks 
under  a  hen,  which  built  their  nests  on  tufts  of 
grass  as  if  they  had  been  in  the  fens.  Dr.  Edwards 
begged  of  me  to  inquire  for  how  many  generations 
that  instinct  lasted. 

Monsieur  and  Madame  Gay  Lussac  lived  in  the 
Jardin  des  Plantes.  Madame  was  only  twenty-one? 
exceedingly  pretty,  and  well-educated ;  she  read 
English  and  German,  painted  prettily,  and  was  a 
musician.  She  told  me  it  had  been  computed, 
that  if  all  the  property  in  France  were  equally 
divided  among  the  population,  each  person  would 
have  150  francs  a-year,  or  four  sous  per  day  ;  so 
that  if  anyone  should  spend  eight  sous  a-day,  some 
other  person  would  starve. 

The  Duchesse  de  Broglie,  Madame  de  StaeTs 
daughter,  called,  and  invited  us  to  her  receptions, 
which  were  the  most  brilliant  in  Paris.  Every 
person  of  distinction  was  there,  French  or  foreign, 
generally  four  or  five  men  to  one  woman.  The 
Duchess  was  a  charming  woman,  both  handsome 
and  amiable,  and  received  with  much  grace.  The 
Duke  was,  then,  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs.  They 


188  Mary  Somerville. 

were  remarkable  for  their  domestic  virtues,  as  well 
as  for  high  intellectual  cultivation.  The  part  the 
Duke  took  in  politics  is  so  well  known,  that  I  need 
not  allude  to  it  here. 

At  some  of  these  parties  I  met  with  Madame 
Charles  Dupin,  whom  I  liked  much.  When  I  went 
to  return  her  visit,  she  received  us  in  her  bed-room. 
She  was  a  fashionable  and  rather  elegant  woman, 
with  perfect  manners.  She  invited  us  to  dinner 
to  meet  her  brother-in-law,  the  President  of  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies.  He  was  animated  and 
witty,  very  fat,  and  more  ugly  than  his  brother, 
but  both  were  clever  and  agreeable.  The  President 
invited  me  to  a  very  brilliant  ball  he  gave,  but  as  it 
was  on  a  Sunday  I  could  not  accept  the  invitation. 
We  went  one  evening  with  Madame  Charles  Dupin 
to  be  introduced  to  Madame  de  Rumford.  Her  first 
husband,  Lavoisier,  the  chemist,  had  been  guillotined 
at  the  Revolution,  and  she  was  now  a  widow,  but 
had  lived  long  separated  from  her  second  husband. 
She  was  enormously  rich,  and  had  a  magnificent 
palace,  garden,  and  conservatory,  in  which  she  gave 
balls  and  concerts.  At  all  the  evening  parties  in 
Paris  the  best  bed-room  was  lighted  up  for  reception 
like  the  other  rooms.  Madame,  de  Rumford  was 
capricious  and  ill-tempered  ;  however,  she  received 
me  very  well,  and  invited  me  to  meet  a  very  large 


French  Society.  189 

party  at  dinner.  Mr.  Fenimore  Cooper,  the  Ameri- 
can novelist,  with  his  wife  and  daughter,  were 
among  the  guests.  "  I  found  him  extremely  amiable 
and  agreeable,  which  surprised  me,  for  when  I  knew 
him  in  England  he  was  so  touchy  that  it  was 
difficult  to  converse  with  him  without  giving  him 
offence.  He  was  introduced  to  Sir  Walter  Scott  by 
Sir  James  Mackintosh,  who  said,  in  presenting  him, 

<* 

"  Mr.  Cooper,  allow  me  to  introduce  you  to  your 
great  forefather  in  the  art  of  fiction  " ;  "  Sir,"  said 
Cooper,  with  great  asperity,  "  I  have  no  forefather." 
Now,  though  his  manners  were  rough,  they  were 
quite  changed.  We  saw  a  great  deal  of  him,  and 
I. was  frequently  in  his  house,  and  found  him  per- 
fectly liberal;  so  much  so,  that  he  told  us  the 
faults  of  his  country  with  the  greatest  frankness, 
yet  he  was  the  champion  of  America,  and  hated 
England. 

None  were  kinder  to  us  than  Lord  and  Lady 
Granville.  Lady  Granville  invited  us  to  all  her 
parties  ;  and  when  Somerville  was  obliged  to  return 
to  England,  she  assured  him  that  in  case  of  any  dis- 
turbance, we  should  find  a  refuge  in  the  Embassy. 
I  went  to  some  balls  at  the  Tuileries  with  Madame 
de  Lafayette  Lasteyrie  and  her  sister.  The  Queen 
Amelie  was  tall,  thin,  and  very  fair,  not  pretty, 
but  infinitely  more  regal  than  Adelaide,  Queen  of 


190  Mary  Somerville. 

England,  at  that  time.  The  Royal  Family  used  to 
walk  about  in  the  streets  of  Paris  without  any 
attendants. 

Sir  Sydney  Smith  was  still  in  Paris  trying  to 
renew  the  order  of  the  Knights  Templars.  Somer- 
ville and  I  went  with  him  one  evening  to  a  recep- 
tion at  the  Duchesse  d'Abrantes,  widow  of  Junot. 
She  was  short,  thick,  and  not  in  the  least  dis- 
tinguished-looking, nor  in  any  way  remarkable.  I 
had  met  her  at  the  Duchesse  de  Broglie's,  where  she 
talked  of  Junot  as  if  he  had  been  in  the  next  room. 
Sir  Sydney  was  quite  covered  with  stars  and  crosses, 
and  I  was  amused  with  the  way  he  threw  his 
cloak  back  to  display  them  as  he  handed  me  to  the 
carriage. 

I  met  with  Prince  Kosloffsky  everywhere ;  he 
was  the  fattest  man  I  ever  saw,  a  perfect  Fal- 
staff.  However,  his  intellect  was  not  smothered, 
for  he  would  sit  an  hour  with  me  talking 
about  mathematics,  astronomy,  philosophy,  and 
what  not.  He  was  banished  from  Russia,  and  as 
he  had  been  speaking  imprudently  about  politics  in 
Paris,  he  was  ordered  to  go  elsewhere  ;  still,  he 
lingered  on,  and  was  with  me  one  morning  when 
Pozzo  di  Borgo,  the  Russian  Ambassador  called. 
Pozzo  di  Borgo  said  to  me,  "  Are  you  aware  that 
Prince  Kosloffsky  has  left  Paris  ? "  "  Oh  yes,"  I 


Legitimists.  191 

said,  "  I  regret  it  much."     He  took  the  hint,  and 
went  away  directly. 

I  had  been  hitherto  entirely  among  the  Liberal 
set.  How  it  came  that  I  was  invited  to  dine  with 
M.  Hericourt  de  Thury,  I  do  not  remember.  M.  de 
Thury  was  simple  in  his  manners,  and  full  of  in- 
formation ;  he  had  been  Director  of  the  Mines  under 
Napoleon,  and  had  charge  of  the  Public  Buildings 
under  Louis  XVIII.  and  Charles  X.,  but  resigned 
his  charges  at  the  Revolution  of  July.  At  this  time 
the  Duchesse  de  Berry  was  confined  in  the  citadel  of 
Blaye.  She  had  a  strong  party  in  Paris,  who 
furiously  resented  the  treatment  she  met  with. 
M.  de  Thury  was  a  moderate  Legitimiste,  but 
Madame  was  ultra.  When  I  happened  to  mention 
that  we  had  been  staying  with  Lafayette,  at  La 
Grange,  she  was  horrified,  and  begged  of  me  not  to 
talk  politics,  or  mention  where  we  had  been,  or 
else  some  of  her  guests  would  leave  the  room.  The 
ladies  of  that  party  would  not  dance  or  go  to  any 
gay  party  ;  they  had  a  part  of  the  theatre  reserved 
for  themselves ;  they  wore  high  dark  dresses  with 
long  sleeves,  called  "Robes  de  Resistance,"  and 
even  the  Legitimiste  newspapers  appeared  with 
black  edges.  They  criticised  those  who  gave  balls, 
and  Lady  Granville  herself  did  not  escape  their 
censure.  The  marriage  of  the  Duchesse  de  Berry  to 


192  Mary  Somerville. 

the  Marchese  Lucchesi  Palli  made  an  immense  sen- 
sation ;  it  was  discussed  in  the  salons  in  a  truly 
French  manner  ;  it  was  talked  of  in  the  streets  ; 
the  Robes  de  Resistance  were  no  longer  worn,  and 
the  Legitimiste  newspapers  went  out  of  mourning. 

All  parties  criticised  the  British  Administration 
in  Ireland.  A  lady  sitting  by  me  at  a  party  said, 
"  No  wonder  so  many  English  prefer  France  to  so 
odious  a  country  as  England,  where  the  people  are 
oppressed,  and  even  cabbages  are  raised  in  hot- 
beds." I  laughed,  and  said,  "  I  like  England  very 
well,  for  all  that."  An  old  gentleman,  who  was 
standing  near  us,  said,  "  Whatever  terms  two 
countries  may  be  on,  it  behoves  us  individuals  to 
observe  good  manners  ;"  and  when  I  went  away,  this 
gentleman  handed  me  to  the  carriage,  though  I  had 
never  seen  him  before. 

The  Marquise  de  La  Place  was  commissioned  by 
Dr.  Majendie  to  invite  me  to  meet  her  and  Madame 
Gay  Lussac  at  dinner.  I  was  very  unwilling  to  go  ; 
for  I  detested  the  man  for  his  wanton  cruelties,  but 
I  found  I  could  not  refuse  on  account  of  these 
ladies.  There  was  a  large  party  of  savants,  agreeable 
and  gentlemanly ;  but  Majendie  himself  had  the 
coarsest  manners ;  his  conversation  was  horridly 
professional ;  many  things  were  said  and  subjects 
discussed  not  fit  for  women  to  hear.  What  a  con- 


Majendie  and  Bell.  193 

trast  the  refined  and  amiable  Sir  Charles  Bell  formed 
with  Majendie !  Majendie  and  the  French  school  of 
anatomy  made  themselves  odious  by  their  cruelty, 
and  failed  to  prove  the  true  anatomy  of  the  brain 
and  nerves,  while  Sir  Charles  Bell  did  succeed,  and 
thus  made  one  of  the  greatest  physiological  dis- 
coveries of  the  age  without  torturing  animals,  which 
his  gentle  and  kindly  nature  abhorred.  To  Lady 
Bell  I  am  indebted  for  a  copy  of  her  husband's  Life. 
She  is  one  of  my  few  dear  and  valued  friends  who 
are  still  alive. 

***** 

While  in  Paris,  I  lost  my  dear  mother.  She  died 
at  the  age  of  ninety,  attended  by  my  brother 
Henry.  She  was  still  a  fine  old  lady,  with  few 
grey  hairs.  The  fear  of  death  was  almost  hereditary 
in  the  Charters  family,  and  my  mother  possessed  it 
in  no  small  degree ;  yet  when  it  came,  she  was 
perfectly  composed  and  prepared  for  it  I  have 
never  had  that  fear  ;  may  God  grant  that  I  may  be 
as  calm  and  prepared  as  she  was. 

***** 

I  was  in  better  health,  but  still  so  delicate  that  I 
wrote  in  bed  till  one  o'clock.  The  "  Connexion  of 
tne  Physical  Sciences"  was  a  tedious  work,  and 
the  proof  sheets  had  to  be  sent  through  the  Embassy. 

M.  Arago   told   me    that    David,  the   sculptor, 


194  Mary  Somerville. 

wished  to  make  a  medallion  of  me  ;  so  he  came  and 
sat  an  hour  with  me,  and  pleased  me  by  his  in- 
telligent conversation  and  his  enthusiasm  for  art. 

o 

A  day  was  fixed,  and  he  took  my  profile  on  slate 
with  pink  wax,  in  a  wonderfully  short  time.  He 
made  me  a  present  of  a  medallion  in  bronze,  nicely 
framed,  and  two  plaster  casts  for  my  daughters. 

***** 
I  frequently  went  to  hear  the  debates  in  the 
Chambers,  and  occasionally  took  my  girls,  as  I 
thought  it  was  an  excellent  lesson  in  French.  As 
party  spirit  ran  very  high,  the  scenes  that  occurred 
were  very  amusing.  A  member,  in  the  course  of 
his  speech,  happening  to  mention  the  word  "  libertd," 
the  President  Dupin  rang  the  bell,  called  out  "  Stop, 
a  propos  de  liberteY'  .  .  .  jumped  down  from  his 
seat,  sprung  into  the  tribune,  pushed  out  the  deputy, 
and  made  a  long  speech  himself. 

The  weather  being  fine,  we  made  excursions 
in  the  neighbourhood.  At  Sevres  I  saw  two 
pieces  of  china;  on  one  of  them  was  a  gnu,  on 
the  other  a  zebra.  Somerville  had  told  me  that 
soon  after  his  return  from  his  African  expedition,  he 
had  given  the  original  drawings  to  M.  Brongniart, 
then  director  of  the  manufactory. 

Baron  Louis  invited  me  to  spend  a  day  with  him 
and  his  niece,  Mademoiselle  de  Rigny,  at  his  country 


Baron  Louis.  ]95 

house,  not  far  from  Paris.  I  went  with  Madame 
de  la  Place,  and  we  set  out  early,  to  be  in  time  for 
breakfast.  The  road  lay  through  the  Forest  of 
Vincennes.  The  Baron's  park,  which  was  close  to 
the  village  of  Petit- Brie,  was  very  large,  and  richly 
wooded  ;  there  were  gardens,  hot-houses,  and  all 
the  luxuries  of  an  English  nobleman's  residence. 
The  house  was  handsome,  with  a  magnificent  library; 
I  remarked  on  the  table  the  last  numbers  of  the 
"  Edinburgh  "  and  "  Quarterly  "  Reviews.  Both 
the  Baron  and  his  niece  were  simple  and  kind. 
I  was  greatly  taken  with  both  ;  the  Baron  had  all 
the  quiet  elegance  of  the  old  school,  and  his  niece 
had  great  learning  and  the  manners  of  a  woman  of 
fashion.  She  lived  in  perfect  retirement,  having 
suffered  much  in  the  time  of  the  Eevolution. 
They  had  both  eventful  lives ;  for  Baron  Louis,  who 
had  been  in  orders,  and  Talleyrand  officiated  at  the 
Champs  de  Mars  when  Louis  the  Sixteenth  took 
the  oath  to  maintain  the  constitution.  Field- 
Marshal  Macdonald,  Due  de  Tarante,  and  his  son- 
in-law,  the  Due  de  Massa  ;  Admiral  de  Kigny, 
Minister  of  Marine ;  M.  Barthe,  Garde  dcs  Sceaux ; 
and  the  Bouvards,  father  and  son,  formed  the  party. 
After  spending  a  most  delightful  and  interesting 
day,  we  drove  to  Paris  in  bright  moonlight. 

Our  friends  in  Paris  and  at  La  Grange  had  been 

o  2 


1C6  Mary  Somerville. 

so  kind  to  us  that  we  were  very  sad  when  we  went 
to  express  our  gratitude  and  take  leave  of  them. 
We  only  stayed  two  days  at  La  Grange,  and  when 
we  returned  to  Paris,  Somerville  went  home  and 
my  son  joined  us,  when  we  made  a  rapid  tour  in 
Switzerland,  the  only  remarkable  event  of  which 
was  a  singular  atmospheric  phenomenon  we  saw 
on  the  top  of  the  Grimsel.  On  the  clouds  of 
vapour  below  us  we  saw  our  shadows  projected,  of 
giant  proportions,  and  each  person  saw  his  own 
shadow  surrounded  by  a  bright  circle  of  prismatic 
colours.  It  is  not  uncommon  in  mountain  regions. 
***** 

[General  Lafayette  and  all  his  family  were  extremely 
kind  to  my  mother.  He  was  her  constant  visitor,  and 
we  twice  visited  him  at  his  country  house,  La  Grange. 
He  wished  to  persuade  my  mother  to  go  there  for  some 
days,  after  our  return  from  Switzerland,  which  we  did  not 
accomplish.  The  General  wrote  the  following  letter  to 
my  father  :— 

FROM  LAFAYETTE  TO  DR.   SOMERVILLE. 

LA.  GRANGE,  31st  October,  1833. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, 

I  waited  to  answer  your  kind  letter,  for  the 
arrival  of  Mr.  Coke's*  precious  gift,  which  nobody  could 
higher  value,  on  every  account,  than  the  grateful  farmer 
on  whom  it  has  been  bestowed.  The  heifers  and  bull 

*  Mr.  Coke,  of  Ilolkham,  afterwards  Earl  of  Leicester. 


Lafayette.  197 

are  beautiful ;  they  have  reached  La  Grange  in  the  best 
order,  and  shall  be  tenderly  attended  to.  ...  It  has  been 
a  great  disappointment  not  to  see  Mrs.  Somerville  and 
the  young  ladies  before  their  departure.  Had  we  not  de- 
pended on  their  kind  visit,  we  should  have  gone  to  take 
leave  of  them.  They  have  had  the  goodness  to  regret  the 
impossibility  to  come  before  their  departure.  Be  so  kind 
as  to  receive  the  affectionate  friendship  and  good  wishes 
of  a  family  who  are  happ}r  in  the  ties  of  mutual  attachment 
that  bind  us  to  }rou  and  them.  .  .  .  Public  interest  is  now 
fixed  upon  the  Peninsula,  and  while  dynasties  are  at  civil 
war,  and  despotic  or  juste  milieu  cabinets  seem  to  agree 
in  the  fear  of  a  genuine  development  of  popular  institu- 
tions, the  matter  for  the  friends  of  freedom  is  to  know 
how  far  the  great  cause  of  Europe  shall  be  forwarded  by 
these  royal  squabbles. 

We  shall  remain  at  La  Grange  until  the  opening  of  the 
session,  hoping  that,  notwithstanding  your  and  the  ladies' 
absence,  your  attention  will  not  be  quite  withdrawn  from 
our  interior  affairs — the  sympathy  shall  be  reciprocal. 
With  all  my  heart,  I  am 

Your  affectionate  friend, 

LAFAYETTE. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

BETT7RN  TO  ENGLAND — LETTER  PROM  HAI.LAM— TREATISE  ON  THE  FORM 
AND  ROTATION  OF  THE  EARTH  AND  PLANETS — SECOND  EDITION  OF 
"CONNEXION  OF  PHYSICAL  SCIENCES"  —  LETTERS  FROM  MARIA 
EDGEWORTH,  MISS  BERRY,  LORD  BROUGHAM,  MRS.  MARCET,  ADMIRAL 
SMYTH— DOUBLE  STARS — ECLIPSE  OF  DOUBLE  STARS — LETTER  FROM 
ADMIRAL  SMYTH— SIR  WILLIAM  HEHSCHEL— NEBULA — LETTER  FROM 
LOKD  ROSSE  —  LETTER  FROM  SIR  JOHN  HERSCHEL  —  SIR  JAMES 
SOUTH'S  OBSERVATORY — MR.  JOHN  MURRAY  — MISS  BERRY — LORD 
DUDLEY -MR.  BOWDITCH  AND  OTHER  DISTINGUISHED  AMERICANS — 
MRS.  BKOWNING  WASHINGTON  —  LETTER  FROM  THE  REV.  DR. 
TUCKERMAN— SIR  WILLIAM  FAIRFAX  ATTACKED  BY  HIGHWAYMEN. 

As  soon  as  we  returned  to  Chelsea,  the  "  Con- 
nexion of  the  Physical  Sciences  "  was  published.  It 
was  dedicated  to  Queen  Adelaide,  who  thanked  me 
for  it  at  a  drawing-room.  Some  time  after  Somerville 
and  I  went  to  Scotland ;  we  had  travelled  all  night 
in  the  mail  coach,  and  when  it  became  light,  a 
gentleman  who  was  in  the  carriage  said  to  Somer- 
ville, "  Is  not  the  lady  opposite  to  me  Mrs.  Somer- 
ville, whose  bust  I  saw  at  Chr.ntrey's  \ "  The 
gentleman  was  Mr.  Sopwith,  of  Newcastle-on-Tyne, 
a  civil  and  mining  engineer.  He  was  distinguished 
for  scientific  knowledge,  and  had  been  in  London 


The  Egyptian  Year.  199 

to  give  information  to  a  parliamentary  committee. 
He  travelled  faster  than  we  did,  and  when  we 
arrived  at  Newcastle  he  was  waiting  to  take  us  to 
his  house,  where  we  were  hospitably  received  by 
Mrs.  Sopwith.  His  conversation  was  highly  in- 
teresting, and  to  him  I  was  indebted  for  much ' 
information  on  mining  generally,  and  on  the  mineral 
wealth  of  Great  Britain,  while  writing  on  Physical 
Geography.  Many  years  after  he  and  Mrs.  Sopwith 
came  and  saw  me  at  Naples,  which  gave  me  much 
pleasure.  He  was  unlike  any  other  traveller  I 
ever  met  with,  so  profound  and  original  were  his 
observations  on  all  he  saw. 

***** 

On  coming  home  I  found  that  I  had  made  an 
error  in  the  first  edition  of  the  "  Physical  Sciences,"  in 
giving  365  days  6  hours  as  the  length  of  the  civil 
year  of  the  ancient  Egyptians.  My  friend  Mr. 
Hallam,  the  historian,  wrote  to  me,  proving  from 
history  and  epochs  of  the  chronology  of  the  ancient 
Egyptians,  that  their  civil  year  was  only  365  days. 
I  was  grateful  to  that  great  and  amiable  man  for 
copies  of  all  his  works  while  he  was  alive,  and  I  am 
obliged  to  his  daughter  for  an  excellent  likeness  of 
him,  now  that  he  is  no  more. 


200  Mary  Somerville. 

FROM  HENRY  HALLAM,  ESQ.,  TO  MRS.  SOMERVILLE. 

WIMPOLE  STREET,  March  12<7t,  1835. 

MY  DEAR  MADAM, 

As  you  will  probably  soon  be  called  upon  for 
another  edition  of  j-our  excellent  work  on  the  "  Connexion 
of  the  Physical  Sciences,"  I  think  you  will  excuse  the 
liberty  I  take  in  mentioning  to  you  one  passage  which 
seems  to  have  escaped  your  attention  in  so  arduous  a 
labour.  It  is  in  page  104,  where  you  have  this  sen- 
tence : — 

"The  Egyptians  estimated  the  year  at  365 d.  6h., 
by  which  they  lost  one  year  in  every  14,601,  their  Sothiac 
period.  They  determined  the  length  of  their  year  by 
the  heliacal  rising  of  Sirius,  2782  years  before  the  Chris- 
tian era,  which  is  the  earliest  epoch  of  Egyptian  chron- 
ology." 

The  Eg}rptian  civil  year  was  of  365  days  only,  as  we 
find  in  Herodotus,  and  I  apprehend  there  is  no  dispute 
about  it.  The  Sothiac  period,  or  that  cycle  in  which  the 
heliacal  rising  of  Sirius  passed  the  whole  civil  year,  and 
took  place  again  on  the  same  day,  was  of  1461  years,  not 
14,601.  If  they  had  adopted  a  year  of  365  d.  6h., 
this  period  would  have  been  more  than  three  times 
14,601 ;  the  excess  of  the  sidereal  year  above  that  being 
only  9'  9",  which  will  not  amount  to  a  day  in  less  than 
about  125  years. 

I  do  not  see  how  the  heliacal  rising  of  Sirius  in  any  one 
year  could  help  them  to  determine  its  length.     By  com- 
paring two  successive  years  they  could  of  course  have  got 
at   a  sidereal  year ;   but  this  is  what  they  did  not  do  ; 
^hence  the  irregularity  which  produced  the  canicular  cycle. 


Unpublished  Writing.  201 

The  commencement  of  that  cycle  is  placed  by  ancient 
chronologers  in  1322  A.C.  It  seems  not  correct  to  call 
2782  A.C.  "  the  earliest  epoch  of  Egyptian  chronology," 
for  we  have  none  of  their  chronology  nearly  so  old,  and 
in  fact  no  chronology,  properly  so  called,"  has  yet  been 
made  out  by  our'  Egyptian  researches.  It  is  indeed  cer- 
tain that,  if  the  reckoning  by  heliacal  risings  of  Sirius  did 
not  begin  in  1322,  we  must  go  nearly  1460  years  back  for 
its  origin ;  since  it  must  have  been  adopted  when  that 
event  preceded  only  for  a  short  time  the  annual  inunda- 
tion of  the  Nile.  But,  according  to  some,  the  year  1322 
A.C.  fell  during  the  reign  of  Sesostris,  to  whom  Herodotus 
ascribes  several  regulations  connected  with  the  rising  of 
the  Nile.  Certainly,  2782  A.C.  is  a  more  remote  era  than 
we  are  hitherto  warranted  to  assume  for  any  astronomical 
observation. 

Believe  me,  dear  Mrs.  Somerville, 

Very  truly  3rours, 

HENRY  HALLAM. 

I  refer  }rou  to  Montucla,  if  you  have  any  doubt  about 
the  Egyptian  year  being  of  365  days  without  bissextile  of 
any  kind. 


I  had  sent  a  copy  of  the  "  Mechanism  of  the 
Heavens  "  to  M.  Poisson  soon  after  it  was  published, 
and  I  had  received  a  letter  from  him  dated  30th 
May,  1832,  advising  me  to  complete  the  work  by 
writing  a  volume  on  the  form  and  rotation  of  the 
earth  and  planets.  Being  again  strongly  advised  to 


202  Mary  Somerville. 

do  so  while  in  Paris,  I  now  began  the  work,  and,  in 
consequence,  I  was  led  into  a  correspondence  with 
Mr.  Ivory,  who  had  written  on  the  subject,  and  also 
with  Mr.  Francis  Baily,  on  the  density  and  com- 
pression of  the  earth.  My  work  was  extensive,  for 
it  comprised  the  analytical  attraction  of  spheroids, 
the  form  and  rotation  of  the  earth,  the  tides  of  the 
ocean  and  atmosphere,  and  small  undulations. 

When  this  was  finished,  I  had  nothing  to  do, 
and  as  I  preferred  analysis  to  all  other  subjects, 
I  wrote  a  work  of  246  pages  on  curves  and  sur- 
faces of  the  second  and  higher  orders.  While 
writing  this,  con  amore,  a  new  edition  of  the 
"  Physical  Sciences "  was  much  needed,  so  I  put 
on  high  pressure  and  worked  at  both.  Had  these 
two  manuscripts  been  published  at  that  time,  they 
might  have  been  of  use ;  I  do  not  remember  why 
they  were  laid  aside,  and  forgotten  till  I  found 
them  years  afterwards  among  my  papers.  Long 
after  the  time  I  am  writing  about,  while  at  Naples, 
I  amused  myself  by  repairing  the  time-worn  parts 
of  these  manuscripts,  and  was  surprised  to  find  that 
in  my  eighty-ninth  year  I  still  retained  facility  in 
the  "  Calculus." 

The  second  edition  of  the  "  Physical  Sciences " 
was  dedicated  to  my  dear  friend,  Sir  John  Herschel. 
It  went  through  nine  editions,  and  has  been  trans- 


The  Duchess  of  Kent.  203 

lated  into  German  and  Italian.  The  book  went 
through  various  editions  in  the  United  States,  to 
the  honour,  but  not  to  the  profit,  of  the  author. 
However,  the  publisher  obligingly  sent  me  a  copy. 
I  must  say  that  profit  was  never  an  object  with 
me :  I  wrote  because  it  was  impossible  for  me  to 
be  idle. 

I  had  the  honour  of  presenting  a  copy  of  my 
book  to  the  Duchess  of  Kent  at  a  private  audience. 
The  Duchess  and  Princess  Victoria  were  alone,  and 
received  me  very  graciously,  and  conversed  for  half 
an  hour  with  me.  As  I  mentioned  before,  I  saw 
the  young  Princess  crowned :  youthful,  almost  child- 
like as  she  was,  she  went  through  the  imposing 
ceremony  with  all  the  dignity  of  a  Queen. 

[A  few  letters  from  some  of  my  mother's  friends, 
written  at  this  period,  may  prove  of  interest.  They 
are  chiefly  written  to  thank  her  for  copies  of  the  Pre- 
liminary Dissertation  or  of  the  "Physical  Sciences." 
One  from  Lord  Brougham  concerns  my  mother's  esti- 
mate of  the  scientific  merit  of  Dr.  Young,  for  whom  she 
had  the  sincerest  admiration,  and  considered  him  one 
of  the  first  philosophers  and  discoursers  of  the  age. 

FEOM  MISS  EDGEWOKTH  TO  MRS.  SOMERVILLE. 

EDGWOETHTOWN,  May  3lgt,  1832. 
MY  DEAR  MRS.  SOMERVILLE, 

There    is    one    satisfaction   at   least    in    giving 
knowledge   to   the   ignorant,    to  those  who  know   their 


204  Mary  Somerville. 

ignorance  at  least,  that  they  are  grateful  and  humble. 
You  should  have  my  grateful  and  humble  thanks  long 
ago  for  the  favour — the  honour — you  did  me  by  sending 
me  that  Preliminary  Dissertation,  in  which  there  is  so 
much  knowledge,  but  that  I  really  wished  to  read  it  over 
and  over  again  at  some  intervals  of  time,  and  to  have 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  my  sister  Harriet  read  it,  before 
I  should  write  to  you.  She  has  come  to  us,  and  has 
just  been  enjoying  it,  as  I  knew  she  would.  For  my 
part,  I  was  long  in  the  state  of  the  boa  constrictor  after 
a  full  meal — and  I  am  but  just  recovering  the  powers  of 
motion.  My  mind  was  so  distended  by  the  magnitude, 
the  immensity,  of  what  you  put  into  it !  I  am  afraid 
that  if  you  had  been  aware  how  ignorant  I  was  you  would 
not  have  sent  me  this  dissertation,  because  you  would 
have  felt  that  you  were  throwing  away  much  that  I 
could  not  understand,  and  that  could  be  better  bestowed 
on  scientific  friends  capable  of  judging  of  what  they 
admire.  I  can  only  assure  you  that  you  have  given  me 
a  great  deal  of  pleasure  ;  that  you  have  enlarged  my  con- 
ception of  the  sublimity  of  the  universe,  beyond  any  ideas 
I  had  ever  before  been  enabled  to  form. 

The  great  simplicity  of  your  manner  of  writing,  I  may 
say  of  your  mind,  which  appears  in  your  writing,  parti- 
cularly suits  the  scientific  sublime — which  would  be 
destroyed  by  what  is  commonly  called  fine  writing.  You 
trust  sufficiently  to  the  natural  interest  of  your  subject, 
to  the  importance  of  the  facts,  the  beauty  of  the  whole, 
and  the  adaptation  of  the  means  to  the  ends,  in  every 
part  of  the  immense  whole.  This  reliance  upon  your 
reader's  feeling  along  with  you,  was  to  me  very  gratifying. 
The  ornaments  of  eloquence  dressing  out  a  sublime 
subject  are  just  so  many  proofs  either  of  bad  taste  in  the 


Miss  Edgeworth.  205 

orator,  or  of  distrust  and  contempt  of  the  taste  of  those 
whom  he  is  trying  thus  to  captivate. 

I  suppose  nobody  yet  has  completely  mastered  the 
tides,  therefore  I  may  well  content  myself  with  my  in- 
ability to  comprehend  what  relates  to  them.  But  instead 
of  plaguing  you  with  an  endless  enumeration  of  my  diffi- 
culties, I  had  better  tell  you  some  of  the  passages  which 

gave  me,  ignoramus  as  I  am,  peculiar  pleasure 

I  am  afraid  I  shall  transcribe  your  whole  book  if  I  go 
on  to  tell  you  all  that  has  struck  me,  and  you  would  not 
thank  me  for  that — you,  who  have  so  little  vanity,  and 
so  much  to  do  better  with  your  time  than  to  read  my 
ignorant  admiration.  But  pray  let  me  mention  to  you 
a  few  of  the  passages  that  amused  my  imagination 
particularly,  viz.,  1st,  the  inhabitant  of  Pallas  going 
round  his  world — or  who  might  go — in  five  or  six 
hours  in  one  of  our  steam  carriages ;  2nd,  the  moderate- 
sized  man  who  would  weigh  two  tons  at  the  surface 
of  the  sun — and  who  would  weigh  only  a  few  pounds 
at  the  surface  of  the  four  new  planets,  and  would  be 
so  light  as  to  find  it  impossible  to  stand  from  the 
excess  of  muscular  force  !  I  think  a  very  entertaining 
dream  might  be  made  of  a  man's  visit  to  the  sun  and 
planets — these  ideas  are  all  like  dreamy  feelings  when  one 
is  a  little  feverish.  I  forgot  to  mention  (page  58)  a  passage 
on  the  propagation  of  sound.  It  is  a  beautiful  sentence, 
as  well  as  a  sublime  idea,  "  so  that  at  a  very  small  height 
above  the  surface  of  the  earth,  the  noise  of  the  tempest 
ceases  and  the  thunder  is  heard  no  more  in  those  bound- 
less regions,  where  the  heavenly  bodies  accomplish  their 
periods  in  eternal  and  sublime  silence." 

Excuse  me  in  my  trade  of  sentence^monger,  and  believe 


206  Mary  Somerville. 

me,  dear  Mrs.  Somerville,  truly  your  obliged  and  truly 
your  affectionate  friend, 

MARIA  EDGEWORTH. 

I  have  persuaded  your  dear  curly-headed  friend, 
Harriet,  to  add  her  own  observations ;  she  sends  her 
love  to  you;  .and  I  know  you  love  her,  otherwise  I  would 
not  press  her  to  write  her  own  say. 


FROM  MISS  JOANNA  BAILLIE  TO  MRS.  SOMERVILLE. 

HAMPSTEAD,  February  1st,  1832. 
MY  DEAR  MRS.  SOMERVILLE, 

I  am  now,  thank  God !  recovered  from  a  very 
heavy  disease,  but  still  very  weak.  I  will  not,  however, 
delay  any  longer  my  grateful  acknowledgments  for  your 
very  flattering  gift  of  your  Preliminary  Dissertation. 
Indeed,  I  feel  myself  greatly  honoured  by  receiving  such 
a  mark  of  regard  from  one  who  has  done  more  to  remove 
the  light  estimation  in  which  the  capacity  of  women  is 
too  often  held,  than  all  that  has  been  accomplished  by 
the  whole  sisterhood  of  poetical  damsels  and  novel- 
writing  authors.  I  could  say  much  more  on  this  subject 
were  I  to  follow  my  own  feelings ;  but  I  am  still  so 
weak  that  writing  is  a  trouble  to  me,  and  I  have  nearly 
done  all  that  I  am  able. 

God  bless  and  prosper  you  ! 

Yours  gratefully  and  truly, 

J.  BAILLIE. 


Miss   Berry.  207 


FROM  MISS   BERRY  TO  MRS.    SOMERVILLE. 

BELLEVUE,  18tk  September,  1834. 

Mr  DEAR  MRS.  SOMERVILLE, 

I  have  just  finished  reading  your  book,  which  has 
entertained  me  extremely,  and  at  the  same  time,  I  hope, 
improved  my  moral  character  in  the  Christian  virtue  of 
humility.  These  must  appear  to  you  such  odd  results — 
so  little  like  those  produced  on  the  great  majority  of 
your  readers,  that  you  must  allow  me  to  explain  them  to 
you.  Humbled,  I  must  be,  by  finding  my  own  intellect 
unequal  to  following,  beyond  a  first  step,  the  explanations 
by  which  you  seek  to  make  easy  to  comprehension  the 
marvellous  phenomena  of  the  universe— humbled,  by 
feeling  the  intellectual  difference  between  you  and  me, 
placing  you  as  much  above  me  in  the  scale  of  reasoning 
beings,  as  I  am  above  my  dog.  Still  I  rejoice  with 
humility  at  feeling  myself,  in  that  order  of  understand- 
ings which,  although  utterly  incapable  of  following  the 
chain  of  your  reasonings,  calculations,  and  inductions — 
utterly  deprived  of  the  powers  necessary  sic  itur  ad 
astro, — am  yet  informed,  enlightened,  and  entertained  with 
the  series  of  sublime  truths  to  which  you  conduct  me. 

In  some  foggy  morning  of  November,  I  shall  drive  out 
to  you  at  Chelsea  and  surprise  you  with  my  ignorance 
of  science,  by  asking  you  to  explain  to  me  some  things 
which  you  will  wonder  any  one  can  have  so  long  existed 
without  knowing.  In  the  mean  time,  I  wish  you  could 
read  in  any  combination  of  the  stars  the  probability  of 
our  often  having  such  a  season  as  this,  of  uninterrupted 
summer  since  April  last,  and  when  last  week  it  was 
sobering  into  autumn,  has  now  returned  to  enter 


208  Mary  Somerville. 

summer  again.  The  thermometer  was  at  83°  in  the 
shade  yesterday,  and  to-day  promises  to  be  as  much. 
We  are  delighted  with  our  two  months'  residence  at  this 
place,  which  we  shall  see  with  regret  draw  towards  a 
close  the  end  of  this  month.  October  we  mean  to  spend 
at  Paris,  before  we  return  to  the  nebulosities  of  London. 
During  my  residence  in  Paris,  before  we  came  here,  I 
never  had  the  good  luck  to  meet  with  your  friend  M. 
Arago ;  had  I  not  been  reading  jrour  book,  I  should 
have  begged  you  to  give  me  a  letter  for  him.  But  as  it 
is,  and  as  my  stay  at  Paris  will  now  be  so  short,  I  shall 
content  myself  with  looking  up  at  a  respectful  distance  to 
all  your  great  fixed  stars  of  science,  excepting  always 
yourself,  dear  Mrs.  Somerville.  No  "disturbing  influ- 
ence "  will,  I  hope,  ever  throw  me  out  of  the  orbit  of 
your  intimacy  and  friendship,  whose  value,  believe  me,  is 
most  duly  and  accurately  calculated  by  your  ignorant 
but  very  affectionate  friend, 

M.  BERRY. 


FKOM  LORD   BROUGHAM   TO   MRS.  SOMERVILLE. 

1834. 

MY  DEAR  MRS.  SOMERVILLE, 

Many  thanks  for  the  sheets,  which  I  have  read 
with  equal  pleasure  and  instruction  as  those  I  formerly 
had  from  you.  One  or  two  things  I  could  have  troubled 
you  with,  but  they  are  of  little  moment.  I  shall  note  them. 
The  only  one  that  is  at  all  material  relates  to  the  way  you 
mention  Dr.  Young — not  that  I  object  to  the  word  "  illus- 
trious," or  as  applied  to  him.  But  as  you  don't  give  it 
to  one  considerably  more  so,  it  looks  either  as  if  you  over- 
rated him,  or  underrated  Davj^,  or  (which  I  suppose  to  be 


Mrs.    Marcet.  209 

the  truth)  as  if  you  felt  Young  had  not  had  his  due  share  of 
honour,  and  desired  to  make  it  up  to  his  memory.  Observe 
I  give  him  a  very  high  place — hut  Davy's  discoveries  are 
both  of  more  unquestioned  originality  and  more  un- 
doubtedly true — perhaps  I  should  say,  more  brought  to 
a  close.  The  alkalis  and  the  principle  of  the  safety 
lamp  are  concluded  and  fixed,  the  undulation  is  in  pro- 
gress, and  somewhat  uncertain  as  to  how  and  where  it 
may  end.  You  will  please  to  observe  that  I  reckon  both 
those  capital  discoveries  of  Davy  the  fruit  of. inquiry, 
and  not  at  all  of  chance — for,  as  to  the  lamp,  it  is  plain  ; 
and  as  to  the  metals,  if  you  look  at  the  inquiries  that 
immediately  preceded,  you  will  see  he  was  thereby  led 
to  the  alkalis.  Indeed,  I  well  remember  saying,  when 
I  read  them,  "  He  will  analyse  lime  and  barytes."  I  am 
quite  ready  to  admit  his  extreme  folly  in  some  things, 
but  that  is  nothing  to  the  present  purpose. 

Yours, 

H.  B. 
(Henry  Brougham.) 


FROM  MRS.  MAECET  TO  MRS.  SOMERVILLE. 

• 
GENEVA,  6th  April,  1834. 

DEAR  MRS.  SOMERVILLE, 

J  am  desired  by  Professor  Prevost  to  inform 
you  that  you  were  elected  an  honorary  member  of  the 
Societe  de  Physique  et  d'Histoire  Xaturelle  de  Geneve 
on  the  3rd  April,  and  that  a  diploma  will  be  forwarded 
to  you  by  the  earliest  opportunity.  After  all  the  honours 
you  have  received,  this  little  feather  is  hardly  worthy  of 
waving  in  your  plume,  but  I  am  glad  that  Geneva  should 


210  Mary  Somerville. 

know  how  to  appreciate  your  merit.  You  receive  great 
honours,  my  dear  friend,  but  that  which  you  confer  on  our 
sex  is  still  greater,  for  with  talents  and  acquirements  of 
masculine  magnitude  you  unite  the  most  sensitive  and 
retiring  modesty  of  the  female  sex ;  indeed,  I  know  not 
any  woman,  perhaps  I  might  say,  any  human  being,  who 
would  support  so  much  applause  without  feeling  the 
weakness  of  vanity.  Forgive  me  for  allowing  my  pen 
to  run  away  with  this  undisguised  praise,  it  looks  so 
much  like  compliment,  but  I  assure  you  it  comes 
straight  from  the  heart,  and  you  must  know  that  it  is 

fully   deserved I   know  not  whether  you  have 

heard  of  the  death  of  Professor  de  la  Rive  (the  father) ; 
it  was  an  unexpected  blow,  which  has  fallen  heavily  on 
all  his  family.  It  is  indeed  a  great  loss  to  Geneva, 
both  as  a  man  of  science  and  a  most  excellent  citizen. 

M.  Rossi*  has  left  us  to  occupy  the  chair  of  political 
economy  of  the  late  M.  Say,  at  Paris;  his  absence  is 
sadly  felt,  and  it  is  in  vain  to  look  around  for  any  one 

capable  of  replacing  him 

Yours  affectionately, 

J.  MARCET. 


PEOM    ADMIEAL  W.  H.  SMYTH  TO  MES.  SOMEEVILLE. 
CRESCENT,  BEDFORD,  October  3rd,  1835. 

MY  DEAR  MADAM, 

As  an  opportunity  offers  of  sending  a  note  to 
town,  I  beg  to  mention  that  I  have  somewhat  impatiently 
waited  for  some  appearance  of  settled  weather,  in  order 

*  M.  Pellegrino  Bossi,  afterwards  Minister  of  France  at  Rome,  then 
Prime  Minister  to  Pius  the  Ninth  ;  murdered  in  1848  on  the  steps 
of  the  Cancelleria,  at  Rome. 


Admiral  Smyth.  211 

to  press  your  coming  here  to  inspect  Halley's  comet, 
before  it  should  have  become  visible  to  the  unassisted 
eye.  That  unerring-  monitor,  however,  the  barometer, 
held  forth  no  hope,  and  the  ceaseless  traveller  is  already 
an  object  of  conspicuous  distinction  without  artificial 
aid,  except,  perhaps,  to  most  eyes  an  opera-glass,  mag- 
nifying three  or  four  times,  will  be  found  a  pleasant 
addition.  It  is  now  gliding  along  with  wonderful  celerity, 
and  the  nucleus  is  very  bright.  It  is  accompanied  with 
a  great  luminosity,  and  the  nucleus  has  changed  its 
position  therein ;  that  is,  on  the  29th  August,  the  nucleus 
was  like  a  minute  star  near  the  centre  of  the  nebulous 
envelope ;  on  the  2nd  September  it  appeared  in  the  n.  /. 
quarter,  and  latterly  it  has  been  in  the  s.  f. 

How  remarkable  that  the  month  of  August  this  year 
should  rattle  Halley's  name  throughout  the  globe,  in 
identity  with  an  astonishing  scientific  triumph,  and  that 
in  the  selfsame  month  the  letters  of  Flamsteed  should 
have  appeared  !  How  I  wish  some  one  would  give  us  a 
life  of  Newton,  with  all  the  interesting  documents  that 
exist  of  his  labours  !  Till  such  appears,  Flamsteed's 
statements,  though  bearing  strong  internal  evidence  of 
truth,  are  ex-parte,  and  it  is  evident  his  anxiety  made 
him  prone  to  impute  motives  which  he  could  not  prove. 
The  book  is  painfully  interesting,  but  except  in  all  that 
relates  to  the  personal  character  of  Flamsteed,  I  could 
almost  have  wished  the  documents  had  been  destroyed. 
People  of  judgment  well  know  that  men  without  faults 
are  monsters,  but  vulgar  minds  delight  in  seeing  the 
standard  of  human  excellence  lowered. 

Dear  Madam, 

Yours  faithfully, 

W.  H.  SMYTH. 


212  Mary  Somerville. 

We  were  deprived  of  the  society  of  Sir  John  and 
Lady  Herschel  for  four  years,  because  Sir  John  took 
his  telescope  and  other  instruments  to  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  where  he  went,  accompanied  by  his 
family,  for  the  purpose  of  observing  the  celestial 
phenomena  of  the  southern  hemisphere.  There  are 
more  than  6,000  double  stars  in  the  northern  hemis- 
phere, in  a  large  proportion  of  which  the  angle  of 
position  and  distance  between  the  two  stars  have 
been  measured,  and  Sir  John  determined,  in  the 
same  manner,  1081  in  the  southern  hemisphere,  and 
I  believe  many  additions  have  been  made  to  them 
since  that  time.  In  many  of  these  one  star  revolves 
rapidly  round  the  other.  The  elliptical  orbits  and 
periodical  times  of  sixteen  or  seventeen  of  these 
stellar  systems  have  been  determined.  In  Gamma 
Virginia  the  two  stars  are  nearly  of  the  same  magni- 
tude, and  were  so  far  apart  in  the  middle  of  the 
last  century  that  they  were  considered  to  be  quite 
independent  of  each  other.  Since  then  they  have 
been  gradually  approaching  one  another,  till,  in 
March,  1836,  I  had  a  letter  from  Admiral  Smyth, 
informing  me  that  he  had  seen  one  of  the  stars 
eclipse  the  other,  from  his  observatory  at  Bedford. 


Occupation  of  a  Star.  213    . 

FROM  ADMIRAL- SMYTH  TO  MRS.  SOMERVILLE. 

CRESCENT,  BEDFORD,  March  26th,  1836. 

MY  DEAE  MADAM, 

Knowing  the  great  interest  you  take  in  sidereal 
astronomy,  of  which  so  little  is  yet  known,  I  trust  it  will 
not  be  an  intrusion  to  tell  you  of  a  new,  extraordinary, 
and  very  unexpected  fact,  in  the  complete  occultation  of 
one  "  fixed  "  star  by  another,  under  circumstances  which 
admit  of  no  possible  doubt  or  equivocation. 

You  are  aware  that  I  have  been  measuring  the  position 
and  distance  of  the  two  stars  y1  and  •/  Virginis,  which 
are  both  nearly  of  similar  magnitudes,  and  also,  that  they 
have  approximated  to  each  other  very  rapidly.  They  were 
very  close  last  year,  and  I  expected  to  find  they  had 
crossed  each  other  at  this  apparition,  but  to  my  surprise 
I  find  they  have  become  a  fair  round  disc,  which  my 
highest  powers  will  not  elongate—  in  fact,  a  single  star  ! 
I  shall  watch  with  no  little  interest  for  the  reappearance 
of  the  second  y. 

My  dear  madam, 

Your  truly  obliged  servant, 

W.  H.  SMYTH. 


This  eclipse  was  also  seen  by  Sir  John  Herschel  at 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  as  well  as  by  many  astrono- 
mers in  Europe  provided  with  instruments  of  great 


214  Mary  Somerville. 

optical  power.  In  1782  Sir  William  Herschel  saw 
one  of  the  stars  of  Zeta  Herculis  eclipse  the 
other. 

In  the  "  Connexion  of  the  Physical  Sciences "  I 
have  given  an  abridged  account  of  Sir  John 
Herschel's  most  remarkable  discoveries  in  the 
southern  hemisphere ;  but  I  may  mention  here  that 
he  determined  the  position  and  made  accurate  draw- 
ings of  all  the  nebulae  that  were  distinctly  visible  in 
his  20  ft.  telescope.  The  work  he  published  will  be 
a  standard  for  ascertaining  the  changes  that  may 
take  place  in  these  mysterious  objects  for  ages  to 
come.  Sir  William  Herschel  had  determined  the 
places  of  2,500  nebulae  in  the  northern  hemisphere ; 
they  were  examined  by  his  son,  and  drawings  made 
of  some  of  the  most'  remarkable,  but  when  these 
nebulae  were  viewed  through  Lord  Rosse's  telescope, 
they  presented  a  very  different  appearance,  showing 
that  the  apparent  form  of  the  nebulae  depends  upon 
the  space- penetrating  power  of  the  telescope,  a  cir- 
cumstance of  vital  importance  in  observing  the 
changes  which  time  may  produce  on  these  wonder- 
ful objects. 

[Long  afterwards  Lord  Rosse  wrote  in  reply  to  some 
questions  which  my  mother  had  addressed  to  him  on 
this  subject : — 


The  Earl  of  Rosse.  215 

FROM  THE  EARL  OF  ROSSE  TO  MRS.  SOMERVILLE. 
CASTLE,  PARSOXSTOWN,  June  12th,  1844. 

DEAR  MRS.  SOMERVILLE, 

I  have  very  reluctantly  postponed  so  long  reply- 
ing to  your  inquiries  respecting  the  telescope,  but  there 
were  some  points  upon  which  I  was  anxious  to  be 
enabled  to  speak  more  precisely.  The  instrument  we 
are  now  using  is  3  feet  aperture,  and  27  feet  focus, 
and  in  the  greater  proportion  of  the  nebulae  which  have 
been  observed  with  it  some  new  details  have  been 
brought  out.  Perhaps  the  most  interesting  general 
result  is  that,  as  far  as  we  have  gone,  increasing  optical 
power  has  enlarged  the  list  of  clusters,  by  diminishing 
that  of  the  nebulas  property  so-called.  Such  has  always 
been  the  case  since  the  nebulae  have  been  observed  with 
telescopes,  and  although  it  would  be  unsafe  to  draw  the 
inference,  it  is  impossible  not  to  feel  some  expectation 
that  with  sufficient  optical  power  the  nebulas  would  all 
be  reduced  into  clusters.  Perhaps  the  two  of  the  most 
remarkable  of  the  resolved  nebulae  are  Fig.  26  and 
Fig.  55.  In  several  of  the  planetary  nebulae  we  have 
discovered  a  star  or  bright  point  in  the  centre,  and  a 
filamentous  edge,  which  is  just  the  appearance  which  a 
cluster  with  a  highly  condensed  centre  would  present  in 
a  small  instrument.  For  instance,  Figs.  47  and  32. 
We  have  also  found  that  many  of  the  nebulae  have  not 
a  symmetrical  form,  as  they  appear  to  have  in  inferior 
instruments ;  for  instance,  Fig.  81  is  a  cluster  with  long 
resolvable  filaments  from  its  southern  extremity,  and 
Fig.  85  is  an  oblong  cluster  with  a  bright  centre. 
Fig.  45  is  an  annular  nebula,  like  Herschel's  drawing 


216  Mary  Somerville. 

of  the  annular  nebula  in  Lyra.  I  have  sent  drawings 
of  a  few  of  these  objects  to  the  Eoyal  Society,  they 
were  forwarded  a  few  days  ago.  '  We  have  upon  the 
whole  as  yet  observed  but  little  with  the  telescope  of 
3  feet  aperture.  You  recollect  Herschel  said  that  it 
was  a  good  observing  year,  in  which  there  were  100 
hours  fit  for  observing,  and  of  the  average  of  our  hours 
I  have  not  employed  above  30.  We  have  been  for  the 
last  two  years  engaged  in  constructing  a  telescope  of 
6  feet  aperture  and  52  feet  focus,  and  it  would  have 
been  impossible  to  have  bestowed  the  necessary  atten- 
tion upon  it  had  we  made  a  business  of  observing. 
That  instrument  is  nearly  finished,  and  I  hope  it  will 
effect  something  for  astronomy.  The  unequal  refrac- 
tion of  the  atmosphere  will  limit  its  powers,  but  how 

far  remains  to  be  ascertained Lady  Rosse  joins 

me  in  very  kind  remembrances  and  believe  me  to  be, 
Dear  Mrs.  Somerville, 

Yours  very  truly  and  ever, 

ROSSE. 


[Sir  John   Herschel  wrote  to   my  father  from   the 
Cape : — 

FROM  SIB  JOHN  HERSCHEL  TO  MR.   SOMERVILLE. 
FELDHAUSEN,  NEAB  WYNBEBG,  C.  G.H.,  July  nth,  1830. 

MY  DEAR    SOMERVILLE, 

Since  our  arrival  here,  I  have,  I  know  in  many 
instances,  maintained  or  established  the  character  of  a 
bad  correspondent ;  and  really  it  is  not  an  inconvenient 
character  to  have  established.  Only,  in  your  case,  I 


Herschel  at  the  Cape.  217 

should  be  very  sorry  to  appear  in  that,  or  any  other 
negligent  or  naughty  light ;  but  you,  I  know,  will  allow 
for  the  circumstances  which  have  occasioned  my  silence. 
Meanwhile,  I  am  not  sorry  that  the  execution  of  an 
intention  I  had  more  than  once  formed  should  have  been 
deferred,  till  we  read  in  the  papers  of  the  well-judged  and 
highly  creditable  notice  (creditable  I  mean  to  the  govern- 
ment pro  tempore)  which  His  Majesty  has  been  pleased  to 
take  of  Mrs.  Somerville's  elaborate  works.  Although 
the  Royal  notice  is  not  quite  so  swift  as  the  lightning  in 
the  selection  of  its  objects,  it  agrees  with  it  in  this,  that 
it  is  attracted  by  the  loftiest ;  and  though  what  she  has 
performed  may  seem  so  natural  and  easy  to  herself,  that 
she  may  blush  to  find  it  fame  ;  all  the  rest  of  the  world 
will  agree  with  me  in  rejoicing  that  merit  of  that  kind  is 
felt  and  recognised  at  length  in  the  high  places  of  the 
earth.  This,  and  the  honourable  mention  of  Airy  by 
men  of  both  parties  in  the  House  of  Commons  about  the 
same  time,  are  things  that  seem  to  mark  the  progress  of 
the  age  we  live  in  ;  and  I  give  Peel  credit  for  his  tact  in 
perceiving  this  mode  of  making  a  favourable  impression 
on  the  public  mind. 

We  are  all  going  on  very  comfortably,  and  continue  to 
like  the  Cape  as  a  place  of  (temporary)  residence  as  much 
or  more  than  at  first.  The  climate  is  so  very  delicious. 
The  stars  are  most  propitious,  and,  astronomi- 
cally speaking,  I  can  now  declare  the  climate  to  be  most 
excellent.  Night  after  night,  for  weeks  and  months, 
with  hardly  an  interruption,  of  perfect  astronomical 
weather,  discs  of  stars  reduced  almost  to  points,  and 
tranquilly  gliding  across  the  field  of  your  telescope.  It 
is  really  a  treat,  such  as  occurs  once  or  perhaps  twice  a 
year  in  England — hardly  more.  I  had  almost  forgotten 


218  Mary  Somerville. 

that  by  a  recent  vote  of  the  Astronomical  Society  I  can 
now  claim  Mrs.  Somerville  as  a  colleague.     Pray  make ' 
my  compliments   to  her  in  that  capacity,  and  tell  her 
that  I  hope  to  meet  her  there  at  some  future  session.  .  .  . 
Yours  very  faithfully, 

H.  W.  HERSCHEL. 
To  WILLIAM  SOMERVILLE,  ESQ. 


Spectrum  analysis  has  shown  that  there  is 
a  vast  quantity  of  self-luminous  gaseous  matter 
in  space,  incapable  of  being  reduced  into  stars, 
however  powerful  the  telescope  through  which 
it  is  observed.  Hence  the  old  opinion  once  more 
prevails,  that  this  is  the  matter  of  which  the  sun 
and  stellar  systems  have  been  formed,  and  that 
other  stellar  systems  are  being  formed  by  slow,  con- 
tinuous condensation.  The  principal  constituents 
of  this  matter  are,  the  terrestrial  gases,  hydrogen, 
and  nitrogen.  The  yellow  stars,  like  the  sun,  con- 
tain terrestrial  matter.  The  nebulous  and  stellar 
constituents  were  chiefly  discovered  by  Dr.  Huggins. 

Somerville  and  I  were  always  made  welcome  by  Sir 
James  South,  and  at  Camden  Hill  I  learnt  the  method 
of  observing,  and  sometimes  made  observations  my- 
self on  the  double  stars  and  binary  systems,  which, 
worthless  as  they  were,  enabled  me  to  describe  better 
what  others  had  done.  One  forenoon  Somerville  and 
I  went  to  pay  a  visit  to  Lady  South.  Sir  James,  who 


Scientific   Society.  21 9 

was  present,  said,  "  Come  to  the  observatory,  and 
measure  the  distance  of  Mercury  from  the  sun  ;  for 
they  are  in  close  approximation,  and  I  wish  to  see 
what  kind  of  observation  you  will  make."  It  was 
erroneous,  as  might  have  been  expected  ;  but  when  I 
took  the  mean  of  several  observations,  it  differed  but 
little  from  that  which  Sir  James  South  had  made  ; 
and  here  I  learnt  practically  the  importance  of  taking 
the  mean  of  approximate  quantities. 

***** 

Dr.  Wollaston,  Dr.  Young,  and  the  Katers  •  died 
before  I  became  an  author ;  Lord  Brougham  was 
one  of  the  last  of  my  scientific  contemporaries,  all 
the  rest  were  younger  than  myself,  and  with  this 
younger  set,  as  with  their  predecessors,  we  had 
most  agreeable  and  constant  intercourse.  Although 
we  lived  so  much  in  scientific  society  we  had  all 
along  been  on  the  most  friendly  and  intimate  terms 
with  the  literary  society  of  the  day,  such  as  Hallam, 
Mil  man,  Moore,  Malthus,  &c.,  &c.  The  highly  in- 
tellectual conversation  of  these  was  enlivened  by  the 
brilliant  wit  of  my  early  friend,  Sydney  Smith,  who 
was  loved  and  admired  by  every  one.  His  daughter 
married  our  friend  Sir  Henry  Holland,  the  distin- 
guished physician,  well  known  for  his  eminent 
literary  and  scientific  acquirements  as  well  as  for  his 
refined  taste. 


220  Mary  Somervtlle. 

No  house  in  London  was  more  hospitable  and 
agreeable  than  that  of  the  late  Mr.  John  Murray,  in 
Albemarle  Street.  His  dinner  parties  were  brilliant, 
with  all  the  poets  and  literary  characters  of  the  day, 
and  Mr.  Murray  himself  was  gentlemanly,  full  of 
information,  and  kept  up  the  conversation  with 
spirit.  He  generously  published  the  "Mechanism 
of  the  Heavens"  at  his  own  risk,  which,  from  its 
analytical  character,  could  only  be  read  by  mathe- 
maticians. 

Besides  those  I  have  mentioned  we  had  a  numer- 
ous acquaintance  who  were  neither  learned  nor 
scientific ;  and  at  concerts  at  some  of  their  houses  I 
enjoyed  much  hearing  the  great  artists  of  the  day, 
such  as  Pasta,  Malibran,  Grisi,  Rubini,  &c.,  &c. 
We  knew  Lucien  Buonaparte,  who  gave  me  a  copy 
of  his  poems,  which  were  a  failure. 

I  had  become  acquainted  with  Madame  de 
Montalembert,  who  was  an  Englishwoman,  and 
was  mother  of  the  celebrated  Comte ;  she  was 
very  eccentric,  and  at  that  time  was  an  Ultra- 
Protestant.  One  day  she  came  to  ask  me  to  go 
and  drive  in  the  Park  with  her,  and  afterwards 
dine  at  her  house,  saying,  "We  shall  all  be  in 
high  dresses."  So  I  accepted,  and  on  entering  the 
drawing-room,  found  a  bishop  and  several  clergy- 
men, Lady  Olivia  Sparrow,  and  some  other  ladies, 


Exeter  Hall.  221 

• 

all  in  high  black  satin  dresses  and  white  lace  caps, 
precisely  the  dress  I  wore,  and  I  thought  it  a 
curious  coincidence.  The  party  was  lively  enough, 
and  agreeable,  but  the  conversation  was  in  a  style  I 
had  never  heard  before — in  fact,  it  affected  the 
phraseology  of  the  Bible.  We  all  went  after  dinner 
to  a  sort  of  meeting  at  Exeter  Hall,  I  quite  forget 
for  what  purpose,  but  our  party  was  on  a  kind  of 
raised  platform.  I  mentioned  this  to  a  friend  after- 
wards, and  the  curious  circumstance  of  our  all  being 
dressed  alike.  "  Do  you  not  know,"  she  said,  "  that 
dress  is  assumed  as  a  distinctive  mark  of  the  Evan- 
gelical party!  So  you  were  a  wolf  in  sheep's 
clothing ! " 

I  had  been  acquainted  with  the  Miss  Berrys  at 
Raith,  when  visiting  their  cousins,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Ferguson.  Mary,  the  eldest,  was  a  handsome, 
accomplished  woman,  who  from  her  youth  had 
lived  in  the  most  distinguished  society,  both  at 
home  and  abroad.  She  published  a  "  Comparative* 
View  of  Social  Life  in  France  and  England,"  which 
was  well  received  by  the  public.  She  was  a  Latin 
scholar,  spoke  and  wrote  French  fluently,  yet  with 
all  these  advantages,  the  consciousness  that  she 
might  have  done  something  better,  had  female 
education  been  less  frivolous,  gave  her  a  character- 
istic melancholy  which  lasted  through  life.  She  did 


222  Mary  Somerville. 

not  talk  much  herself,  but  she  had  the  tact  to  lead 
conversation.  She  and  her  sister  received  every 
evening  a  select  society  in  their  small  house  in 
Curzon  Street.  Besides  any  distinguished  foreigners 
who  happened  to  be  in  London,  among  their 
habitual  guests  were  my  friend,  Lady  Charlotte 
Lindsay,  always  wifty  and  agreeable,  the  brilliant 
and  beautiful  Sheridans,  Lady  Theresa  Lister,  after- 
wards Lady  Theresa  Lewis,  who  edited  Miss  Berry's 
"Memoirs,"  Lord  Lansdowne,  and  many  others.  Lady 
Davy  came  occasionally,  and  the  Miss  Fanshaws, 
who  were  highly  accomplished,  and  good  artists, 
besides  Miss  Catherine  Fanshaw  wrote  clever  vers 
de  societe,  such  as  a  charade  on  the  letter  H,  and,  if 
I  am  not  mistaken,  "  The  Butterfly's  Ball,"  &c.  I 
visited  these  ladies,  but  their  manners  were  so  cold 
and  formal  that,  though  I  admired  their  talents,  I 
never  became  intimate  with  them.  On  the  con- 
trary, like  everyone  else,  I  loved  Mary  Berry,  she 
"was  so  warm-hearted  and  kind.  When  London 
began  to  fill,  and  the  season  was  at  its  height,  the 
Miss  Berrys  used  to  retire  to  a  pretty  villa  at 
Twickenham,  where  they  received  their  friends  to 
luncheon,  and  strawberries  and  cream,  and  very 
delightful  these  visits  were  in  fine  spring  weather. 
I  recollect  once,  after  dining  there,  to  have  been 
foruntate  enough  to  give  a  place  in  my  carriage  to 


Rogers   Epigram.  223 

Lord  Macaulay,  and  those  who  remember  his  charm- 
ing and  brilliant  conversation  will  understand  how 

o 

short  the  drive  to  London  appeared. 

We  sometimes  went  to  see  Miss  Lydia  White, 
who  received  every  evening ;  she  was  clever,  witty, 
and  very  free  in  her  conversation.  On  one  occasion 
the  party  consisted,  besides  ourselves,  of  the  Misses 
Berry,  Lady  Davy  ;  the  three  poets,  Rogers,  William 
Spencer,  and  Campbell;  Sir  James  Macintosh,  and 
Lord  Dudley.  Rogers,  who  was  a  bitter  satirist 
and  hated  Lord  Dudley,  had  written  the  following 
epigram : — 

Ward  has  no  heart,  'tis  said  ;  but  I  deny  it. 
He  has  a  heart,  and  gets  his  speeches  by  it. 

I  had  never  heard  of  this  epigram,  and  on  coming 
away  Lord  Dudley  said,  "You  are  going  home 
to  sleep  and  I  to  work"  I  answered,  "  Oh  !  you 
are  going  to  prepare  your  speech  for  to-morrow." 
My  appropriate  remark  raised  an  universal  laugh. 

***** 
Mr.  Bowditch,  of  Boston,  U.  S.,  who  died  in  1838, 
left  among  other  works  a  "  Commentary  on  La  Place's 
Mecanique  Celeste"  in  four  volumes.  While  busily 
occupied  in  bringing  out  an  edition  of  the  "  Physical 
Sciences,"  I  received  a  letter  from  his  son,  Mr.  H. 
Bowditch,  requesting  me  to  write  an  elaborate  review 
of  that  work,  which  would  be  published  in  Boston 


224  Mary  Somerville. 

along  with  the  biography  of  Ms  father,  written  by 
Mr.  Young,  who  sent  me  a  copy  of  it.  Though 
highly  sensible  of  the  honour,  I  declined  to  under- 
take so  formidable  a  work,  fearing  that  I  should  not 
do  justice  to  the  memory  of  so  great  a  man. 

I  have  always  been  in  communication  with  some 
of  the  most  distinguished  men  of  the  United  States. 
Washington  Irving  frequently  came  to  see  me  when 
he  was  in  London  ;  he  was  as  agreeable  in  conversa- 
tion as  he  was  distinguished  as  an  author.  No  one 
could  be  more  amiable  than  Admiral  Wilkes,  of  the 
U.  S.  navy  :  he  had  all  the  frankness  of  a  sailor. 
We  saw  a  good  deal  of  him  when  he  was  in  London, 
and  I  had  a  long  letter  from  him,  giving  me  an  ac- 
count of  his  fleet,  his  plan  for  circumnavigation,  &c.&c. 
I  never  had  the  good  fortune  to  become  personally 
acquainted  with  Captain  Maury,  of  the  U.  S.  navy, 
author  of  that  fascinating  book,  the  "  Physical 
Geography  of  the  Sea,"  but  I  am  indebted  to  him 
for  a  copy  of  that  work,  and  of  his  valuable  charts. 
Mr.  Dana,  who  is  an  honour  to  his  country,  sent  me 
copies  of  his  works,  to  which  I  have  had  occasion 
frequently  to  refer  as  acknowledged  authority  on 
many  branches  of  natural  history.  I  should  be  un- 
grateful if  I  did,  not  acknowledge  the  kindness 
I  received  from  the  Silliman  family,  who  informed 
me  of  any  scientific  discovery  in  the  United  States, 


American  Friends.  2£5 

and  sent  me  a  copy  of  their  Journal  when  it  con- 
tained anything  which  might  interest  me.  I  was 
elected  an  honorary  member  of  the  Geographical 
and  Statistical  Society  of  New  York,  U.  S.  on  the 
15th  May,  1857,  and  on  the  15th  October,  1869, 
I  was  elected  a  member  of  the  American  Philo- 
sophical Society  at  Philadelphia,  for  Promoting 
Useful  Knowledge.  I  shall  ever  be  most  grateful 
for  these  honours. 

While  living  in  Florence,  many  years  after,  an 
American  friend  invited  me  to  an  evening  party  to 
meet  an  American  authoress  who  wished  particu- 
larly to  make  my  acquaintance.  I  accordingly 
went  there  on  the  evening  in  question,  and  my 
friends,  after  receiving  me  with  their  accustomed 
cordiality,  presented  me  to  the  lady,  and  placed 
me  beside  her  to  give  me  an  opportunity  of  con- 
versing with  her.  I  addressed  her  several  times, 
and  made  various  attempts  to  enter  into  con- 
versation, but  only  received  very  dry  answers  in 
reply.  At  last  she  fairly  turned  her  back  upon 
me,  and  became  engrossed  with  a  lady  who  sat 
on  her  other  side,  upon  which  I  got  up  and  left 
her  and  never  saw  her  again.  A  very  different 
person  in  every  respect  was  present  that  even- 
ing, as  much  distinguished  by  her  high  mental 
qualities  and  poetical  genius  as  by  her  modesty  and 


226  Mary  Somerville, 

simplicity.  I  allude  to  our  greatest  British  poetess, 
Mrs.  Browning,  who  at  that  time  resided  in  Florence, 
except  when  the  delicacy  of  her  health  obliged  her 
to  go  to  Rome.  I  think  there  is  no  other  instance 
of  husband  and  wife  both  poets,  and  both  distin- 
guished in  their  different  lines.  I  can  imagine  no 
happier  or  more  fascinating  life  than  theirs ;  two 
kindred  spirits  united  in  the  highest  and  noblest 
aspirations.  Unfortunately  her  life  was  a  short 
one ;  in  the  full  bloom  of  her  intellect  her  frail 
health  gave  way,  and  she  died  leaving  a  noble 
record  of  genius  to  future  ages,  and  a  sweet  memory 
to  those  who  were  her  contemporaries.  The  Flo- 
rentines, who,  like  all  Italians,  greatly  appreciate 
genius,  whether  native  or  foreign,  have  placed  a 
commemorative  tablet  on  Casa  Guidi,  the  house 
Mrs.  Browning  inhabited. 

I  was  extremely  delighted  last  spring  in  being 
honoured  by  a  visit  from  Longfellow,  -that  most 
genial  poet.  It  is  not  always  the  case  that  the 
general  appearance  of  a  distinguished  person  answers 
to  one's  ideal  of  what  he  ought  to  be — in  this  respect 
Longfellow  far  surpasses  expectation.  I  was  as 
much  charmed  with  his  winning  manner  and  con- 
versation as  by  his  calm,  grand  features  and  the  ex- 
pression of  his  intellectual  countenance. 

The  Barons  Fairfax,  as  I  mentioned  already,  had 


Tuckerman.  227 

long  been  members  of  the  Republic  of  the  United 
States,  and  Washington's  mother  belonged  to  this 
family.  During  the  war  of  Independence,  while  my 
father,  then  Lieutenant  Fairfax,  was  on  board  a 
man-of-war  on  the  American  station,  he  received  a 
letter  from  General  Washington  claiming  him  as  a 
relation,  and  inviting  him  to  pay  him  a  visit,  saying, 
he  did  not  think  that  war  should  interfere  with  the 
courtesies  of  private  life.  Party  spirit  ran  so  high 
at  that  time  that  my  father  was  reprimanded  for 
being  in  correspondence  with  the  enemy.  I  men- 
tioned to  my  friend,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Tuckerman,  of  the 
United  States,  how  much  I  regretted  that  so  pre- 
cious a  letter  had  been  lost,  and  he  most  kindly 
on  going  home  sent  me  an  autograph  letter  of 
General  Washington. 

FROM  THE  EEV.  JOSEPH  TUCKERMAN  TO  MRS.  SOMERVILLE. 

BOSTON,  August  28th,  1834. 
MY  DEAR  MADAM, 

I  have  very  great  pleasure  in  sending  to  you  an 
autograph  letter  of  your  and  our  glorious  Washington. 
I  obtained  it  from  Mr.  Sparks,  who  had  the  gratification 
of  seeing  you  when  he  was  in  England,  and  who  told  me 
when  I  applied  to  him  for  it,  that  there  is  no  one  in  the 
world  to  whom  he  would  be  so  glad  to  give  it.  It  is 
beyond  comparison  the  best  and  almost  the  only  re- 
maining one  at  his  disposal  among  the  "  Washington  " 
papers. 

02 


228  Mary  Somerville. 

I  am  again  in  my  family  and  in  the  field  of  my 
ministry. 

But  very  dear  to  me  are  my  associations  with  scenes 
and  friends  in  England  ;  and  most  glad  should  I  be  if  I 
could  renew  that  intercourse  with  yourself,  and  with  the 
intellect  and  virtue  around  you,  to  which  I  have  been 
indebted  for  great  happiness,  and  which,  I  hope,  has 
done  something  to  qualify  me  for  a  more  efficient  service. 
Will  you  please  to  present  my  very  sincere  respects  to 
your  husband,  and  to  recall  me  to  the  kind  remembrance 
of  your  children.  With  the  highest  respect  and  regard, 
allow  me  to  call  myself, 

Your  friend, 

JOSEPH  TUCKERMAN. 


I  think  it  must  have  been  on  returning  from  the 
American  station,  or  may  be  later  in  the  career  of 
my  father's  life,  that  a  circumstance  occurred  which 
distressed  him  exceedingly.  Highway  robberies  were 
common  on  all  the  roads  in  the  vicinity  of  London, 
but  no  violence  was  offered.  My  father  was  travel- 
ling alone  over  Blackheath  when  the  postilion  was 
ordered  to  stop,  a  pistol  presented  at  my  father,  and 
his  purse  demanded.  My  father  at  once  recognised 
the  voice  as  that  of  a  shipmate,  and  exclaimed, 
"  Good  God !  I  know  that  voice !  can  it  be 

young ?     I  am  dreadfully  shocked ;    I   have 

a  hundred  pounds  which  shall  be  yours — come  into 


Robbers  on  Blackheath.  229 

the  carriage,  and  let  me  take  you  to  London,  where 
you  will  be  safe."  .  .  "  No,  no,"  the  young  man 
said,  "  I  have  associates  whom  I  cannot  leave — it 
is  too  late."  ...  It  was  too  late ;  he  was  arrested 
eventually  and  suffered.  Years  afterwards  when 
by  some  accident  my  father  mentioned  this  event, 
he  was  deeply  affected,  and  never  would  tell  the 
name  of  the  young  man  who  had  been  his  mess- 
mate. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

ROME,  NAPLES,  AND  COMO — BADEN — WINTER  AT  FLORENCE — SIENA — 
LETTER  FROM  LORD  BROUGHAM — MR.  MOUNTSTUART  ELPHINSTONK 
— LIFE  AT  ROME — CAMPAGNA  CATTLE. 

[My  mother  was  already  meditating  writing  a  book  upon 
Physical  Geography,  and  had  begun  to  collect  materials 
for  it,  when  my  father's  long  and  dangerous  illness 
obliged  her  to  lay  it  aside  for  a  time.  My  father  was 
ordered  to  a  warmer  climate  for  the  winter,  and  as  soon 
as  he  was  able  to  travel  we  proceeded  to  Rome.  We 
were  hardly  settled  when  my  mother,  with  her  usual 
energy,  set  to  work  diligently,  and  began  this  book,  which 
was  not  published  for  some  time  later,  as  it  required  much 
thought  and  research.  She  never  allowed  anything  to 
interfere  with  her  morning's  work ;  after  that  was  over 
she  was  delighted  to  join  in  any  plan  which  had  been 
formed  for  the  afternoon's  amusement,  and  enjoyed  her- 
self thoroughly,  whether  in  visiting  antiquities  and 
galleries,  excursions  in  the  neighbourhood,  or  else  going 
with  a  friend  to  paint  on  the  Campagna.  My  mother  was 
extremely  fond  of  Rome,  and  often  said  no  place  had 
ever  suited  her  so  well.  Independently  of  the  picturesque 
beauty  of  the  place,  which,  to  such  a  lover  of  nature, 
was  sufficient  in  itself,  there  was  a  very  pleasant  society 


John  Gibson  at  Rome.  231 

during  many  seasons  we  spent  there.  The  visitors  were 
far  less  numerous  than  they  are  now,  but  on  that  very 
account  there  was  more  sociability  and  intimacy,  and 
scarcely  an  evening  passed  without  our  meeting.  The 
artists  residing  at  Koine,  too,  were  a  most  delightful 
addition  to  society.  Some  of  them  became  our  very  dear 
friends.  My  mother  remarks  : — 


WE  took  lodgings  at  Eome,  and  as  soon  as  we 
were  settled  I  resumed  my  work  and  wrote  every 
morning  till  two  o'clock,  then  went  to  some  gallery, 
walked  on  the  Pincio,  dined  at  six,  and  in  the 
evening  either  went  out  or  received  visits  at  home — 
the  pleasantest  way  of  seeing  friends,  as  it  does 
not  interfere  with  one's  occupations. 

We  once  joined  a  party  that  was  arranged  to  see 
the  statues  in  the  Vatican  by  torchlight,  at  which 
Lord  Macaulay  astonished  us  by  his  correct  know- 
ledge and  learning  as  we  passed  through  the  gallery 
of  inscriptions.  To  me  this  evening  was  memorable  ; 
on  this  occasion  I  first  met  with  John  Gibson,  the 
sculptor,  who  afterwards  became  a  dear  and  valued 
friend.  He  must  have  been  a  pupil  of  Canova's 
or  Thorwaldsen's  when  Somerville  and  I  were  first 
at  Rome.  Now  his  fame  was  as  great  as  that  of 
either  of  his  predecessors. 


232  Mary  Somerville. 

[In  spring  we  went  to  Naples  for  a  few  weeks,  and 
returned  to  Rome  by  the  San  Germane  road,  now  so 
familiar  to  travellers,  but  then  hardly  ever  frequented,  as 
it  was  extremely  unsafe  on  account  of  the  brigands.  We 
met  with  no  adventures,  although  we  often  reached  our 
night  quarters  long  after  sunset,  for  my  mother  sketched 
a  great  deal  on  the  road.  We  travelled  by  vetturino  and 
continued  this  delightful  journey  to  Como.  My  mother 
was  a  perfect  travelling  companion,  always  cheerful  and 
contented  and  interested  in  all  she  saw.  I  leave  her  to 
tell  of  our  pleasant  residence  at  Bellaggio  in  her  own 
words : — 


We  remained  only  a  short  time  at  Florence,  and 
then  went  for  a  month  to  Bellaggio,  on  the  Lake  of 
Como,  at  that  time  the  most  lonely  village  imaginable. 
We  had  neither  letters,  newspapers,  nor  any  books, 
except  the  Bible,  yet  we  liked  it  exceedingly.  I 
did  nothing  but  paint  in  the  mowings,  and  Somer- 
ville sat  by  me.  My  daughters  wandered  about, 
and  in  the  evening  we  went  in  a  boat  on  the  lake. 
Sometimes  we  made  longer  excursions.  One  day  we 
went  early  to  Menaggio,  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
lake.  The  day  had  been  beautiful,  but  while  at 
dinner  we  were  startled  by  a  loud  peal  of  thunder. 
The  boatmen  desired  us  to  embark  without  delay, 
as  a  storm  was  rising  behind  the  mountains ; 
it  soon  blew  a  gale,  and  the  lake  was  a  sheet 


Storm.  233 

of  foam ;  we  took  shelter  for  a  while  at  some 
place  on  the  coast  and  set  out  again,  thinking 
the  storm  had  blown  over,  but  it  was  soon  worse 
than  ever.  We  were  in  no  small  danger  for  two 
hours.  The  boatmen,  terrified,  threw  themselves 
on  their  knees  in  prayer  to  the  Madonna.  Somer- 
ville  seized  the  helm  and  lowered  the  sail  and 
ordered  them  to  rise,  saying,  the  Madonna  would 
help  them  if  they  helped  themselves,  and  at  last 
they  returned  to  their  duty.  For  a  long  time  we 
remained  perfectly  silent,  when  one  of  our  daugh- 
ters said,  "  I  Have  been  thinking  what  a  paragraph 
it  will  be  in  the  newspapers,  'Drowned,  during  a 
sudden  squall  on  the  lake  of  Como,  an  English 
family  named  Somerville,  father,  mother  and  two 
daughters.' ''  The  silence  thus  broken  made  us 
laugh,  though  our  situation  was  serious  enough,  for 
when  we  landed  the  shore  was  crowded  with  people 
who  had  fully  expected  to  see  the  boat  go  down. 
Twice  after  this  we  were  overtaken  by  these  squalls, 
which  are  very  dangerous.  I  shall  never  forget  the 
magnificence  of  the  lightning  and  the  grandeur  of 
the  thunder,  which  was  echoed  by  the  mountains 
during  the  storms  on  the  Lake  of  Como. 

We  saw  the  fishermen  spear  the  fish  by  torch- 
light, as  they  did  on  the  Tweed.  The  fish  were 
plenty  and  the  water  so  clear  that  they  were  seen 


234  Mary  Somerville. 

at  a  great  depth.  There  are  very  large  red-fleshed 
trout  in  the  lake,  and  a  small  very  delicious  fish 
called  agoni,  caught  in  multitudes  by  fine  silk 
nets,  to  which  bells  are  attached  on  floats,  that 
keep  up  a  constant  tinkling  to  let  the  fishermen 
know  where  to  find  their  nets  when  floated  away 
by  the  wind. 

[We  now  crossed  the  Alps,  by  the  St.  Gothard,  to  Basle 
and  Baden  Baden,  where  we  passed  the  summer,  intend- 
ing to  return  to  England  in  autumn,  but  as  soon  as  the 
rains  began  my  father  had  so  serious  a  return  of  his  ill- 
ness that  my  mother  was  much  alarmed.  When  he  was 
well  enough  to  travel,  we  once  more  crossed  the  Alps, 
and  reached  Florence,  where  we  remained  for  the  winter. 
My  mother  resumed  her  work  there. 


Through  the  kindness  of  the  Grand  Duke,  I  was 
allowed  to  have  books  at  home  from  his  private 
library  in  the  Pitti  Palace,  a  favour  only  granted 
to  the  four  Directors.  This  gave  me  courage  to  col- 
lect materials  for  my  long  neglected  Physical  Geo- 
graphy, still  in  embryo.  As  I  took  an  interest  in 
every  branch  of  science  I  became  acquainted  with 
Professor  Amici,  whose  microscopes  were  unrivalled 
at  that  time,  and  as  he  had  made  many  remarkable 
microscopic  discoveries  in  natural  history,  he  took 
us  to  the  Museum  to  see  them  magnified  and 


The  Pitti  Palace.  235 

modelled  in  wax.  I  had  the  honour  of  being  elected 
a  member  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Science  at 
Florence. 

There  were  many  agreeable  people  at  Florence 
that  winter  and  a  good  deal  of  gaiety.  The  Mar- 
chese  Antinori  presented  Somerville  and  me  to 
the  Grand  Duke,  who  had  expressed  a  wish  to 
know  me.  He  received  us  very  graciously,  and 
conversed  with  us  for  more  than  an  hour  on 
general  subjects.  He  afterwards  wrote  me  a  polite 
letter,  accompanied  by  a  work  on  the  drainage 
of  the  Maremma,  and  gave  directions  about  our 
being  invited  to  a  scientific  meeting  which  was 
to  be  held  at  Pisa.  We  were  presented  to  the 
Grand  Duchess,  who  was  very  civil.  We  spent 
the  summer  at  Siena,  and  had  a  cheerful  airy 
apartment  with  a  fine  view  of  the  hills  of  Santa 
Fiora,  and  with  very  pretty  arabesques  in  fresco  on 
the  walls  of  all  the  rooms,  some  so  very  artistic 
that  I  made  sketches  of  them.  In  these  old  cities 
many  of  the  palaces  and  houses  are  decorated  with 
that  artistic  taste  which  formerly  prevailed  to  such 
an  extent  in  Italy,  and  which  has  now  yielded, 
here  as  elsewhere,  to  common-place  modern  furniture. 


[While  we  were  at  Siena,  my  mother  received  the  fol- 
lowing letter  from  Lord  Brougham,  who  was  a  frequent 


236  Mary  Sometville. 

correspondent  of  hers,  but  whose  letters  are  generally  too 
exclusively  mathematical  for  the  general  reader.  My 
mother  had  described  the  curious  horse-races  which  are 
held  at  Siena  every  three  years,  and  other  mediaeval  cus- 
toms still  prevalent.  , 

FROM  LOED  BROUGHAM  TO  MRS.  SOMERVILLE. 

COLE  HILL,  KENT,  Sept.  28th,  1840. 
MY  DEAR   MRS.    SOMERVILLE, 

I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  your  kind  letter 
which  let  me  know  of  your  movements.     I  had  not  heard 

of  them  since  I  saw  the  Fergusons We  have 

been  here  since  parliament  rose,  as  I  am  not  yet  at  all 
equal  to  going  to  Brougham.  My  health  is  now  quite 
restored ;  but  I  shall  not  soon — nor  in  all  probability 
ever — recover  the  losses  I  have  been  afflicted  with.  I 
passed  the  greater  part  of  last  winter  in  Provence, 
expecting  some  relief  from  change  of  scene  and  from 
the  fine  climate  ;  but  I  came  back  fully  worse  than  when 
I  went.  In  fact,  I  did  wrong  in  struggling  at  first,  which 
I  did  to  be  able  to  meet  parliament  in  January  last.  If 
I  had  yielded  at  once,  I  would  have  been  better.  I  hope 
and  trust  they  sent  you  a  book  I  published  two  years 
ago  ;  I  mean  the  "  Dissertations,"  of  which  one  is  on  the 
"  Principia,"  and  designed  to  try  how  far  it  may  be 
taught  to  persons  having  but  a  very  moderate  stock  of 
mathematics ;  also,  if  possible,  to  keep  alive  the  true 
taste  (as  I  reckon  it)  in  mathematics,  which  modern 
analysis  has  a  little  broken  in  upon.  Assuming  you  to 
have  got  the  book,  I  must  mention  that  there  are  some 

intolerable  errors  of  the  press  left,  such  as 

Excuse  my  troubling  you  with  these  errata,  and  impute  it 


Broughams  Dissertations.  237 

to  my  wish  that  you  should  not  suppose  me  to  have 
written  the  nonsense  which  these  pages  seem  to  prove. 
By  the  way,  it  is  a  curious  proof  of  university  prejudice, 
that  though  the  Cambridge  men  admit  my  analysis  of  the 
"  Principia "  to  be  unexceptionable,  and  to  be  well 
calculated  for  teaching  the  work,  yet,  not  being  by  a 
Cambridge  man,  it  cannot  be  used  !  They  are  far  more 
liberal  at  Paris,  where  they  only  are  waiting  for  my 
analysis  of  the  second  book ;  but  I  put  off  finishing  it, 
as  I  do  still  more  my  account  of  the  "  Mecanique 
Celeste."  The  latter  I  have  almost  abandoned  in 
despair  after  nearly  finishing  it ;  I  find  so  much  that 
cannot  be  explained  elementarily,  or  anything  near  it. 
So  that  my  account  to  be  complete  would  be  nearly  as 
hard  reading  as  yours,  and  not  1000th  part  as  good  .... 
I  greatly  envy  you  Siena  ;  I  never  was  there  above  a  day, 
and  always  desired  to  stay  longer.  The  language  is,  as 
you  say,  a  real  charm ;  but  I  was  not  aware  of  the 
preservation  in  which  you  describe  the  older  manners  to 
be.  I  fear  I  shall  not  be  able  to  visit  Provence,  as  I 

should  have  wished  this  winter but  my  plans 

are  not  quite  fixed.  The  judicial  business  in  Parliament 
and  the  Privy  Council  will  also  make  my  going  abroad 
after  January  difficult.  I  don't  write  you  any  news,  nor 
is  there  any  but  what  you  see  in  the  papers.  The  Tory 
restoration  approaches  very  steadily,  tho'  not  very 
rapidly;  and  I  only  hope  that  the  Whigs,  having  con- 
trived to  destroy  the  Liberal  party  in  the  country — I  fear 
past  all  hope  of  recovery — may  not  have  a  war  abroad 

also  to  mourn  for . 

Believe  me, 

Yours  ever, 

H.  BROUGHAM. 


238  Mary  Somerville. 

On  going  to  Rome  I  required  a  good  many  books 
for  continuing  my  work  on  "  Physical  Geography," 
and  had  got  "  Transactions  of  the  Geographical 
Society"  and  other  works  sent  from  London, 
The  Hon.  Mountstuart  Elphinstone  who  was  then  at 
Rome,  was  an  old  acquaintance  of  ours.  He  was 
one  of  the  most  amiable  men  I  ever  met  with, 
and  quite  won  my  heart  one  day  at  table  when 
they  were  talking  of  the  number  of  singing- 
birds  that  were  eaten  in  Italy — nightingales,  gold- 
finches, and  robins — he  called  out,  "  What !  robins ! 
our  household  birds !  I  would  as  soon  eat  a 
child  !  "  He  was  so  kind  as  to  write  to  the  Direc- 
tors of  the  East  India  Company  requesting  that  I 
might  have  the  use  of  the  library  and  papers  that 
were  in  the  India  House.  This  was  readily  granted 
me  ;  and  I  had  a  letter  in  consequence  from  Mr. 
Wilson,  the  Orientalist,  giving  me  a  list  of  the  works 
they  had  on  the  geography  of  Eastern  Asia  and  the 
most  recent  travels  in  the  Himalaya,  Thibet,  and 
China,  with  much  useful  information  from  himself.  I 
was  indebted  to  Sir  Henry  Pottinger,  then  at  Rome, 
for  information  relating  to  Scinde,  for  he  had  been 
for  some  years  British  Envoy  at  Beloochistan. 
Thus  provided,  I  went  on  with  my  work.  We  lived 
several  winters  in  an  apartment  on  the  second  floor 
of  Palazzo  Lepri,  Via  dei  Condotti,  where  we  passed 


A  Flood  in  Rome.  239 

many  happy  days.  When  we  first  lived  in  Via 
Condotti,  the  waste-pipes  to  carry  off  the  rain-water 
from  the  roofs  projected  far  into' the  street,  and  when 
there  was  a  violent  thunderstorm,  one  might  have 
thought  a  waterspout  had  broken  over  Eome,  the 
water  poured  in  such  cascades  from  the  houses  on 
each  side  of  the  street.  On  one  occasion  the  rain 
continued  in  torrents  for  thirty-six  hours,  and  the 
Tiber  came  down  in  heavy  flood,  inundating  the 
Ghetto  and  all  the  low  parts  of  the  city  ;  the  water 
was  six  feet  deep  in  the  Pantheon.  The  people 
were  driven  out  of  their  houses  in  the  middle  of 
the  night  and  took  refuge  in  the  churches,  and 
boats  plied  in  the  streets  supplying  the  inhabitants 
with  food,  which  they  hauled  up  in  baskets  let  down 
from  the  windows.  The  Campagna  for  miles  was 
under  water ;  it  covered  the  Ponte  Molle  so  that 
the  courier  could  not  pass ;  and  seen  from  the 
Pincio  it  looked  like  an  extensive  lake.  Much 
anxiety  was  felt  for  the  people  who  lived  in  the 
farm  houses  now  surrounded  with  water.  Boats 
were  sent  to  rescue  them,  and  few  lives  were  lost ; 
but  many  animals  perished.  The  flood  did  not 
subside  till  after  three  days,  when  it  left  every- 
thing covered  with  yellow  mud ;  the  loss  of  pro- 
perty was  very  great,  and  there  was  much  misery 
for  a  long  time. 


240  Mary  Somerville. 

Our  house  was  in  a  very  central  position,  and  when 
not  engaged  I  gladly  received  anyone  who  liked  to 
come  to  us  in  the  evening,  and  we  had  a  most  agree- 
able society,  foreign  and  English,  for  we  were  not 
looked  upon  as  strangers,  and  the  English  society 
was  much  better  during  the  years  we  spent  in  Rome 
than  it  was  afterwards. 

I  had  an  annual  visit  of  an  hour  from  the  astro- 
nomer Padre  Vico,  and  Padre  Pianciani,  Professor  of 
Chemistry  in  the  Collegio  Romano.  I  was  invited 
to  see  the  Observatory ;  but  as  I  had  seen  those  of 
Greenwich  and  Paris,  I  did  not  think  it  worth 
while  accepting  the  invitation,  especially  as  it  re- 
quired an  order  from  the  Pope.  I  could  easily 
have  obtained  leave,  for  we  were  presented  to 
Gregory  XVI.  by  the  President  of  the  Scotch 
Catholic  College.  The  Pope  received  me  with 
marked  distinction ;  notwithstanding  I  was  dis- 
gusted to  see  the  President  prostrate  on  the 
floor,  kissing  the  Pope's  foot  as  if  he  had  been 
divine.  I  think  it  was  about  this  time  that  I 
was  elected  an  honorary  associate  of  the  Accademia 
Tiberiana. 

I  had  very  great  delight  in  the  Campagna  of 
Rome;  the  fine  range  of  Apennines  bounding  the 
plain,  over  which  the  fleeting  shadows  of  the  passing 
clouds  fell,  ever  changing  and  always  beautiful, 


Drove  of  Campagna  Cattle.  241 

whether  viewed  in  the  early  morning,  or  in  the 
glory  of  the  setting  sun,  I  was  never  tired  of  ad- 
miring ;  and  whenever  I  drove  out,  preferred  a 
country  drive  to  the  more  fashionable  Villa  Bor- 
ghese.  One  day  Somerville  and  I  and  our  daughters 
went  to  drive  towards  the  Tavolata,  on  the  road  to 
Albano.  We  got  out  of  the  carriage,  and  went  into 
a  field,  tempted  by  the  wild  flowers.  On  one  side  of 
this  field  ran  the  acqueduct,  on  the  other  a  deep  and 
wide  ditch  full  of  water.  I  had  gone  towards  the 
acqueduct,  leaving  the  others  in  the  field.  All  at 
once  we  heard  a  loud  shouting,  when  an  enormous 
drove  of  the  beautiful  Campagna  grey  cattle  with 
their  wide-spreading  horns  came  rushing  wildly 
between  us  with  their  heads  down  and  their  tails 
erect,  driven  by  men  with  long  spears  mounted  on 
little  spirited  horses  at  full  gallop.  It  was  so  sudden 
and  so  rapid,  that  only  after  it  was  over  did  we  per- 
ceive the  danger  we  had  run.  As  there  was  no 
possible  escape,  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  standing 
still,  which  Somerville  and  my  girls  had  presence  of 
mind  to  do,  and  the  drove  dividing,  rushed  like  a 
whirlwind  to  the  right  and  left  of  them.  The 
danger  was  not  so  much  of  being  gored  as  of 
being  run  over  by  the  excited  and  terrified  animals, 
and  round  the  walls  of  Eome  places  of  refuge  are 
provided  for  those  who  may  be  passing  when  the 


242  Mary  Somerville. 

cattle  are  driven.  Near  where  this  occurred  there  is 
a  house  with  the  inscription  "Casa  Dei  Spiriti" ;  but 
I  do  not  think  the  Italians  believe  in  either  ghosts 
or  witches  ;  their  chief  superstition  seems  to  be  the 
"  Jettatura"  or  evil  eye,  which  they  have  inherited 
from  the  early  Eomans,  and,  I  believe,  Etruscans. 
They  consider  it  a  bad  ouien  to  meet  a  monk  or 
priest  on  first  going  out  in  the  morning.  My 
daughters  were  engaged  to  ride  with  a  large  party, 
and  the  meet  was  at  our  house.  A  Roman,  who 
happened  to  go  out  first,  saw  a  friar,  and  rushed  in 
again  laughing,  and  waited  till  he  was  out  of  sight. 
Soon  after  they  set  off,  this  gentleman  was  thrown 
from  his  horse  and  ducked  in  a  pool;  so  the 
"  Jettatura "  was  fulfilled.  But  my  daughters 
thought  his  bad  seat  on  horseback  enough  to 
account  for  his  fall  without  the  Evil  Eye. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

ALBANO — POPULAR  SINGING— LETTERS  FROM  MRS.  SOMERYILLE  — GIBSON 
— PERUGIA— COMET  OF  1843— SUMMER  AT  VENICE — LETTERS  FROM 
MRS.  SOMERVILLE  AND  MISS  JOANNA  BAILLIE — ELECTED  ASSOCIATE 
OF  THE  COLLEGE  OF  RESURGENTI  AND  R.  I.  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCE 
AT  AREZZO. 

IN  spring  we  went  to  Albano,  and  lived  in  a  villa, 
high  up  on  the  hill  in  a  beautiful  situation  not 
far  from  the  lake.  The  view  was  most  extensive, 
commanding  the  whole  of  the  Campagna  as  far  as 
Terracina,  &c.  In  this  wide  expanse  we  could  see  the 
thunderclouds  forming  and  rising  gradually  over  the 
sky  before  the  storm,  and  I  used  to  watch  the 
vapour  condensing  into  a  cloud  as  it  rose  into  the 
cool  air.  I  never  witnessed  anything  so  violent  as 
the  storms  we  had  about  the  equinox,  when  the 
weather  broke  up.  Our  house  being  high  above  the 
plain  became  enveloped  in  vapour  till,  at  3  p.m., 
we  could  scarcely  see  the  olives  which  grew  below 
our  windows,  and  crash  followed  crash  with  no 
interval  between  the  lightning  and  the  thunder,  so 
that  we  felt  sure  many  places  must  have  been  struck  ; 
and  we  were  not  mistaken — trees,  houses,  and  even 

R  2 


244  Mary  Somerville. 

cattle  had  been  struck  close  to  us.  Somerville  went 
to  Florence  to  attend  a  scientific  meeting,  and  wrote 
to  us  that  the  lightning  there  had  stripped  the  gold 
leaf  off  the  conductors  on  the  powder  magazine  ;  a 
proof  of  their  utility. 

The  sunsets  were  glorious,  and  I,  fascinated  by 
the  gorgeous  colouring,  attempted  to  paint  what 
Turner  alone  could  have  done  justice  to.  I  made 
studies,  too,  which  .were  signal  failures,  of  the  noble 
ilex  trees  bordering  the  lake  of  Albano.  Thus 
I  wasted  a  great  deal  of  time,  I  can  hardly  say 
in  vain,  from  the  pleasure  I  had  in  the  lovely 
scenery.  Somerville  sat  often  by  me  with  his  book, 
while  I  painted  from  nature,  or  amused  himself 
examining  the  geological  structure  of  the  country. 
Our  life  was  a  solitary  one,  except  for  the  occasional 
visit  from  some  friends  who  were  at  Frascati ;  but 
we  never  found  it  dull ;  besides,  we  made  many 
expeditions  on  mules  or  donkeys  to  places  in  the 
neighbourhood.  I  was  very  much  delighted  with 
the  flora  on  the  Campagna  and  the  Alban  hills, 
which  in  spring  and  early  summer  are  a  perfect 
garden  of  flowers.  Many  plants  we  cultivate  in 
England  here  grow  wild  in  profusion,  such  as 
cyclamens,  gum-cistus,  both  white  and  purple,  many 
rare  and  beautiful  orchidese,  the  large  flowering 
Spanish  broom,  perfuming  the  air  all  around,  the 


Albano.  245 

tall,  white-blossomed  Mediterranean  heath,  and  the 
myrtle.  These  and  many  others  my  girls  used  to 
bring  in  from  their  early  morning  walks.  The 
flowers  only  lasted  till  the  end  of  June,  when  the 
heat  began,  and  the  whole  country  became  brown  and 
parched ;  but  scarcely  had  the  autumnal  rains  com- 
menced, when,  like  magic,  the  whole  country  broke 
out  once  more  into  verdure,  and  myriads  of  cycla- 
mens covered  the  ground.  Nightingales  abounded 
in  the  woods,  singing  both  by  night  and  by  day ; 
and  one  bright  moonlight  night  my  daughters,  who 
slept  with  their  window  open,  were  startled  from 
their  sleep  by  the  hooting  of  one  of  those  beautiful 
birds,  the  great-eared  owl — "le  grand  due"  of 
Buffon — which  had  settled  on  the  railing  of  their 
balcony.  We  constantly  came  across  snakes,  gene- 
rally harmless  ones  ;  but  there  were  a  good  many 
vipers,  and  once,  when  Somerville  and  my  daughters, 
with  Mr.  Cromek,  the  artist,  had  gone  from  Gen- 
zano  to  Nettuno  for  a  couple  of  days,  a  small  asp 
which  was  crawling  among  the  bent-grass  on  the 
sea-shore,  darted  at  one  of  the  girls,  who  had  irri- 
tated it  by  touching  it  with  her  parasol.  By  the 
natives  they  are  much  dreaded,  both  on  this  coast 
and  in  the  pine  forest  of  Ravenna,  where  the  cattle 
are  said  to  be  occasionally  poisoned  by  their  bite. 


246  Mary  Somerville. 

We  had  been  acquainted  with  the  Eev.  Dr.,  after- 
wards Cardinal  Wiseman  at  Eome.  He  was  head  of 
a  college  of  young  men  educating  for  the  Catholic 
Church,  who  had  their  "  villeggiatura "  at  Monte 
Porzio.  We  spent  a  day  with  him  there,  and  visited 
Tusculum  ;  another  day  we  went  to  Lariccia,  where 
there  is  a  palace  and  park  belonging  to  the  Chigi 
family  in  a  most  picturesque  but  dilapidated  state. 
We  went  also  to  Genzano,  Eocca  del  Papa,  and 
occasionally  to  visit  friends  at  Frascati.  There  was 
a  stone  threshing-floor  behind  our  house.  During  the 
vintage  we  had  it  nicely  swept  and  lighted  with 
torches,  and  the  grape  gatherers  came  and  danced 
till  long  after  midnight,  to  the  great  amusement  of 
my  daughters,  who  joined  in  the  dance,  which  was 
the  Saltarello,  a  variety  of  the  Tarantella.  They 
danced  to  the  -beating  of  tambourines.  Italy  is  the 
country  of  music,  especially  of  melody,  and  the 
popular  airs,  especially  the  Neapolitan,  are  ex- 
tremely beautiful  and  melodious ;  yet  it  is  a  fact, 
that  the  singing  of  the  peasantry,  particularly  in 
the  Eoman  and  Neapolitan  provinces,  is  most  dis- 
agreeable and  discordant.  It  is  not  melody  at  all, 
but  a  kind  of  wild  chant,  meandering  through 
minor  tones,  without  rhythm  of  any  sort  or  apparent 
rule,  and  my  daughters  say  it  is  very  difficult  to 
note  down ;  yet  there  is  some  kind  of  method  and 


Neapolitan  Music.  247 

similarity  in  it  as  one  hears  it  shouted  out  at  the 
loudest  pitch  of  the  voice,  the  last  note  dwelt  upon 
and  drawn  out  to  an  immeasurable  length.  The 
words  are  frequently  improvised  by  the  singers,  who 
answer  one  another  from  a  distance,  as  they  work 
in  the  fields.  I  have  been  told,  this  style  of  chant- 
ing— singing  it  can  hardly  be  called — has  been 
handed  down  from  the  most  ancient  times,  and  it  is 
said,  in  the  southern  provinces,  to  have  descended 
from  the  early  Greek  colonists.  The  ancient  Greeks 
are  supposed  to  have  chanted  their  poetry  to  music, 
as  do  the  Italian  improvisator!  at  the  present  day. 
In  Tuscany,  the  words  of  the  songs  are  often  ex- 
tremely poetical  and  graceful.  Frequently,  these 
verses,  called  "stornelli"  and  "rispetti,"  are  com- 
posed by  the  peasants  themselves,  women  as  well  as 
men  ;  the  language  is  the  purest  and  most  classical 
Italian,  such  as  is  spoken  at  the  present  day  in  the 
provinces  of  Siena,  Pistoja,  &c.,  very  much  less 
corrupted  by  foreign  idioms  or  adaptations  than 
what  is  spoken,  even  by  cultivated  persons,  in 
Florence  itself.  The  picturesque  costumes  so  uni- 
versal when  I  first  came  to  Italy,  in  1817,  had 
fallen  very  much  into  disuse  when,  at  a  much  later 
period,  we  resided  in  Eome,  and  now  they  are  rarely 
seen. 

We  hired   a  handsome  peasant    girl   from    Al- 


248  Mary  Somerville. 

bano  as  housemaid,  who  was  much  admired  by 
our  English  friends  in  her  scarlet  cloth  bodice, 
trimmed  with  gold  lace,  and  the  silver  spadone,  or 
bodkin,  fastening  her  plaits  of  dark  hair ;  but  she 
very  soon  exchanged  her  picturesque  costume  for  a 
bonnet,  etc.,  in  which  she  looked  clumsy  and 
commonplace. 

[The  following  are  extracts  from  letters  written  from 
Albano  by  my  mother  : — 

FEOM  MRS.  SOMERVILLE  TO  HER  SON  W.  GREIG,  ESQ. 

ALBANO,  16<A  June,  1841. 

I  was  thankful  to  hear,  my  dearest  Woronzow, 
from    your    last    letter    that   Agnes    is    recovering   so 

well We  are  very  much  pleased 

with  our  residence  at  Albano ;  the  house,  with  its  high 
sounding  name  of  "  Villa,"  is  more  like  a  farmhouse,  with 
brick  floors  and  no  carpets,  and  a  few  chairs  and  tables, 
but  the  situation  is  divine.  We  are  near  the  top  of  the 
hill,  about  half-a-mile  above  Albano,  and  have  the  most 
magnificent  view  in  every  direction,  and  such  a  variety 
of  delightful  walks,  that  we  take  a  new  one  every 
evening.  For  painting  it  is  perfect ;  every  step  is  a 
picture.  At  present  we  have  no  one  near,  and  lead  the 
life  of  hermits ;  but  our  friends  have  loaded  us  with 
books,  and  with  drawing,  painting,  music,  and  writing, 
we  never  have  a  moment  idle.  Almost  every  one  has  left 
Rome  ;  but  the  English  have  all  gone  elsewhere,  as  they 
are  not  so  easily  pleased  with  a  house  as  we  are.  The 


Letters.  249 

only  gay  thing  we  have  done  was  a  donkey  ride  yesterday 
to  the  top  of  Monte  Cavo,  and  back  by  the  lake  of 
Nemi. 


FROM  MRS.  SOMERVILLE  TO  WORONZOW  GREIG,  ESQ. 

ALBANO,  292A  August,  1841. 

I  dare  say  you  think  it  very  long  since  you  have 
heard  from  me,  my  dearest  Woronzow,  but  the  truth  is, 
I  have  been  writing  so  hard,  that  after  I  had  finished  my 
day's  work,   I   was  fit  for  nothing  but  idleness.     The 
reason  of  my  hurry  is,  that  the  scientific  meeting  takes 
place  at  Florence  on  the  15th  of  September,  and  as  I 
think  it  probable  that  some  of  our  English  philosophers 
will  come  to  it,   I  hope  to  have  a  safe  opportunity  of 
sending  home  some  MS.  which  it  has  cost  me  hard  work 
to  get  ready,  as  I  have  undertaken  a  book  more  fit  for 
the  combination  of  a  Society  than  for  a  single  hand  to 
accomplish.     Lord  Brougham   was  most  kind  when  at 
Rome,  and  took  so  great  an  interest  in  it,  that  he  has 
undertaken  to   read    it    over,  and   give  me  his  opinion 
and  criticism,  which  will  be  very  valuable,   as  I  know 
no  one  who  is  a  better  judge  of  these  matters.     He  will 
send  it  to  Mr.  Murray,  and  you  had  better  consult  with 
him  about  it,  whether  he  thinks  it  will  succeed  or  not. 
Both  William  and  Martha  like  what  I  ha*ve  done ;  but  I 
am  very  nervous  about  it,  and  wish  you  would  read  it  if 
you  have  time.  ......  We  have  been  extremely  quiet 

all  the  summer ;  we  have  no  neighbours,  so  that  we 
amuse  ourselves  with  our  occupations.  I  get  up  between 
six  and  seven,  breakfast  at  eight,  and  write  till  three, 
when  we  dine ;  after  dinner,  I  write  again  till  near  six, 


250  Mary  Somerville. 

when  we  go  out  and  take  a  long  walk ;  come  home  to  tea 
at  nine,  and  go  to  bed  at  eleven :  the  same  thing  day 
after  day,  so  you  cannot  expect  a  very  amusing  letter. 

I  have  another  commission  I  wish  you  would 

do  for  me ;  it  is  to  inquire  what  discoveries  Captain 
Ross  has  made  at  the  South  Pole.  I  saw  a  very  interest- 
ing account  in  "  Galignani  "  of  what  they  have  done,  but 
cannot  trust  to  a  newspaper  account  so  as  to  quote  it. 


A  new  edition  of  my  "  Physical  Sciences "  was 
required,  so  the  "Physical  Geography"  was  laid 
aside  for  the  present.  On  returning  to  Rome,  we 
resumed  our  usual  life,  and  continued  to  receive  our 
friends  in  the  evening  without  ceremony.  There 
was  generally  a  merry  party  round  the  tea  table  in 
a  corner  of  the  room.  I  cannot  omit  mentioning 
one  of  the  most  charming  and  intellectual  of  our 
friends,  Don  Michelangelo  Gaetani,  Duke  of  Ser- 
moneta,  whose  brilliant  and  witty  conversation  is 
unrivalled,  and  for  whom  I  have  had  a  very  sin- 
cere friendship  for  many  years.  I  found  him  lately 
as  charming  as  ever,  notwithstanding  the  cruel  loss 
of  his  sight.  The  last  time  I  ever  dined  out  was  at 
his  house'  at  Rome,  when  I  was  on  my  way  to  Naples 

in  1867. 

***** 
John  Gibson,  the  sculptor,  the  most  guileless  and 
amiable  of  men,  was  now  a  dear  friend.     His  style 


John  Gibson,  the  Sculptor.  251 

was  the  purest  Grecian,  and  had  some  of  his  works 
been  found  among  the  ruins,  multitudes  would  have 
come  to  Rome  to  admire  them.  He  was  now  in 
the  height  of  his  fame ;  yet  he  was  so  kind  and 
encouraging  to  young  people  that  he  allowed  my 
girls  to  go  and  draw  in  his  studio,  and  one 
of  my  daughters,  with  a  friend,  modelled  there 
for  some  time.  His  drawings  for  bas-reliefs  were 
most  beautiful.  He  drew  very  slowly,  but  a  line 
once  drawn  was  never  changed.  He  ignored 
India-rubber  or  bread-crumbs,  so  perfect  was  his 
knowledge  of  anatomy,  and  so  decided  the  character 
and  expression  he  meant  to  give. 

We  had  charades  one  evening  in  a  small  theatre 
in  our  house,  which  went  off  very  well.  There  was 
much  beauty  at  Rome  at  that  time ;  no  one  who  was 
there  can  have  forgotten  the  beautiful  and  brilliant 
Sheridans.  I  recollect  Lady  Dufferin  at  the  Easter 
ceremonies  at  St.  Peter's,  in  her  widow's  cap,  with  a 
large  black  crape  veil  thrown  over  it,  creating  quite 
a  sensation.  With  her  exquisite  features,  oval  face, 
and  somewhat  fantastical  head-dress,  anything  more 
lovely  could  not  be  conceived ;  and  the  Roman 
people  crowded  round  her  in  undisguised  admiration 
of  "  la  bella  monaca  Inglese."  Her  charm  of  manner 
and  her  brilliant  conversation  will  never  be  forgotten 
by  those  who  knew  her.  To  my  mind,  Mrs.  Norton 


252  Mary  Somerville. 

was  the  most  beautiful  of  the  three  sisters.  Hers  is 
a  grand  countenance,  such  as  artists  love  to  study. 
Gibson,  whom  I  asked,  after  his  return  from  England, 
which  he  had  revisited  after  twenty-seven  years' 
absence,  what  he  thought  of  Englishwomen,  replied, 
he  had  seen  many  handsome  women,  but  no  such 
sculptural  beauty  as  Mrs.  Norton's.  I  might  add 
the  Marchioness  of  Waterford,  whose  bust  at  Mac- 
donald's  I  took  at  first  for  an  ideal  head,  till  I 
recognised  the  likeness. 

Lady  Davy  used  to  live  a  great  deal  at  Rome,  and 
took  an  active  part  in  society.  She  talked  a  great 
deal,  and  talked  well  when  she  spoke  English,  but 
like  many  of  us  had  more  pretension  with  regard  to 
the  things  she  could  not  do  well  than  to  those  she 
really  could.  She  was  a  Latin  scholar,  and  as  far  as 
reading  and  knowing  the  literature  of  modern 
languages  went  she  was  very  accomplished,  but  un- 
fortunately, she  fancied  she  spoke  them  perfectly, 
and  was  never  happier  than  when  she  had  people  of 
different  nations  dining  with  her,  each  of  whom  she 
addressed  in  his  own  language.  Many  amusing  mis- 
takes of  hers  in  speaking  Italian  were  current  in 
both  Roman  and  English  circles. 

*  *  *  *  * 

A  few  months  were  very  pleasantly  spent  one 
summer  at  Perugia,  where  there  is  so  much  that  is 


Perugia.  253 

interesting  to  be  seen.  The  neighbouring  country  is 
very  beautiful,  and  the  city  being  on  the  top  of  a 
hill  is  very  cool  during  the  hot  weather.  We  had 
an  apartment  in  the  Casa  Oddi-Baglioni — a  name 
well  known  in  Italian  history — and  I  recollect  spend- 
ing some  very  pleasant  days  with  the  Gonte  Oddi- 
Baglioni,  at  a  villa  called  Colle  del  Cardinale,  some 
ten  or  twelve  miles  from  the  town.  The  house  was 
large  and  handsomely  decorated,  with  a  profusion 
of  the  finest  Chinese  vases.  On  our  toilet  tables 
were  placed  perfumes,  scented  soap,  and  very 
elaborately  embroidered  nightdresses  were  laid  out 
for  use.  I  remember  especially  admiring  the  basins, 
jugs,  &c.,  which  were  all  of  the  finest  japan  enamel. 
There  was  a  subterranean  apartment  where  we 
dined,  wThich  was  delightfully  cool  and  pleasant,  and 
at  a  large  and  profusely  served  dinner-table,  while 
we  and  the  guests  with  the  owner  of  the  house 
dined  at  the  upper  end,  at  the  lower  end  and  below 
the  salt  there  were  the  superintendent  of  the  Count's 
farms,  a  house  decorator  and  others  of  that  rank.  It 
is  not  the  only  instance  we  met  with  of  this  very 
ancient  custom.  The  first  time  Somerville  and  I 
came  to  Italy,  years  before  this,  while  dining  at  a 
very  noble  house,  the  wet-nurse  took  her  place,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  at  the  foot  of  the  dinner-table. 
On  the  morning  after  our  arrival  and  at  a  very 


254  Mary  Somerville. 

early  hour  there  was  a  very  fine  eclipse  of  the  sun, 
though  not  total  at  Perugia  or  the  neighbourhood ; 
the  chill  and  unnatural  gloom  were  very  striking. 

Perugia  is  one  of  the  places  in  which  the  ancient 
athletic  game  of  pallone  is  played  with  spirit.  It  is 
so  graceful  when  well  played  that  I  wonder  our 
active  young  men  have  not  adopted  it.  A  large 
leather  ball  filled  with  condensed  air  is  struck  and 
returned  again  by  the  opponent  with  the  whole 
force  of  their  right  arms,  covered  to  the  elbow  with 
a  spiked  wooden  case.  The  promptness  and  activity 
required  to  keep  up  the  ball  is  very  great,  and  the 
impetus  with  which  it  strikes  is  such,  that  the  boxes 
for  spectators  in  the  amphitheatres  dedicated  to  this 
game  are  protected  by  strong  netting.  It  is  a  very 
complicated  game,  and,  I  am  told,  somewhat  re- 
sembles tennis. 

***** 

On  leaving  Perugia  we  went  for  a  few  days  to 
Assissi,  spent  a  day  at  Chiusi,  and  then  returned  to 
Eome,  which  we  found  in  a  great  state  of  excitement 
on  account  of  three  steamers  which  had  just  ar- 
rived from  England  to  ply  on  the  Tiber.  The  Pope 
and  Cardinals  made  a  solemn  procession  to  bless 
them.  No  doubt  they  would  have  thought  our 
method  of  dashing  a  bottle  of  wine  on  a  vessel  on 
naming  her  highly  profane. 


Tivoli,  Veil,  &c.  255 

We  constantly  made  expeditions  to  the  country,  to 
Tivoli,  Veil,  Ostia,  &c.,  and  my  daughters  rode  on  the 
Campagna.  One  day  they  rode  to  Albano,  and  on 
returning  after  dark  they  told  me  they  had  seen  a 
most  curious  cloud  which  never  altered  its  position ; 
it  was  a  very  long  narrow  stripe  reaching  from  the 
horizon  till  nearly  over  head — it  was  the  tail  of  the 
magnificent  comet  of  1843. 

We  met  with  a  great  temptation  in  an  invitation 
from  Lady  Stratford  Canning,  to  go  and  visit  them 
at  Buyukdere,  near  Constantinople,  but  res  arcta 
prevented  us  from  accepting  what  would  have  been 
so  desirable  in  every  respect.  At  this  time  I  sat  to 
our  good  friend  Mr.  Macdonald  for  my  bust,  which 
was  much  liked.* 

*  *  *  *  » 

One  early  summer  we  went  to  Loreto  and  Ancona, 
where  we  embarked  for  Trieste  ;  the  weather  seemed 
fine  when  we  set  off,  but  a  storm  came  on,  with 
thunder  and  lightning,  very  high  sea  and  several 
waterspouts.  The  vessel  rolled  and  pitched,  and  we 
were  carried  far  out  of  our  course  to  the  Dalmatian 
coast.  I  was  obliged  to  remain  a  couple  of  days  at 
Trieste  to  rest,  and  was  very  glad  when  we  arrived 

*  The  vessel  on  board  which  this  bust  was  shipped  for  England  ran 
on  a  shoal  and  sank,  but  as  the  accident  happened  in  shallow  water,  the 
bust  was  recovered,  none  the  worse  for  its  immersion  in  salt  water. 


256  Mary  Somerville. 

at  Venice.  The  summer  passed  most  delightfully 
at  Venice,  and  we  had  ample  time  to  see  everything 
without  hurry.  I  wrote  very  little  this  summer, 
for  the  scenery  was  so  beautiful  that  I  painted  all 
day;  my  daughters  drew  in  the  Belle  Arti,  and 
Somerville  had  plenty  of  books  to  amuse  him, 
besides  sight-seeing,  which  occupied  much  of  our 
time.  In  the  Armenian  convent  we  met  with 
Joseph  Warten,  an  excellent  mathematician  and 
astronomer  ;  he  was  pastor  at  Neusatz,  near  Peter- 
wardein  in  Hungary,  and  he  was  making  a  tour 
through  Europe.  He  asked  me  to  give  him  a 
copy  of  the  "  Mechanism  of  the  Heavens,"  and 
afterwards  wrote  in  Latin  to  Somerville  and  sent 
me  some  errors  of  the  press  he  had  met  with  in  my 
book,  but  they  were  of  no  use,  as  I  never  published 
a  second  edition.  We  returned  to  Rome  by  Ravenna, 
where  we  stayed  a  couple  of  days,  then  travelled 
slowly  along  the  Adriatic  Coast.  From  thence 
we  went  by  Gubbio  and  Perugia  to  Orvieto,  one 
of  the  most  interesting  towns  in  Italy,  and  one 
seldom  visited  at  that  time  ;  now  the  railway  will 
bring  it  into  the  regular  track  of  travellers. 


A  few  extracts  from  letters,  written  and  received 
during  this  summer  by  my  mother,  may  not  be  without 
interest.  Also  parts  of  two  from  my  mother's  old  and 


Venice.  257 

valued  friend  Miss  Joanna  Baillie.  The  second  letter 
was  written  several  years  later,  and  is  nearly  the  last  she 
ever  wrote  to  my  mother. 


FROM  MRS.  SOMERVILLE  TO  WOROXZOW  GREIG,  ESQ. 

VENICE,  21st  July,  1843. 

I  most  sincerely  rejoice  to  hear  that  Agnes  and 
you  have  gone  to  the  Rhine,  as  I  am  confident  a  little 
change  of  air  and  scene  will  be  of  the  greatest  service  to 

you  both We  are  quite  enchanted  with  Venice ; 

no  one  can  form  an  idea  of  its  infinite  loveliness  who  has 
not  seen  it  in  summer  and  in  moonlight.  I  often  doubt 
my  senses,  and  almost  fear  it  may  be  a  dream.  We  are 
lodged  to  perfection,  the  weather  has  been  charming,  no 
oppressive  heat,  though  the  thermometer  ranges  from  75C 
to  80°,  accompanied  by  a  good  deal  of  scirocco ;  there  are 
neither  flies  nor  fleas,  and  as  yet  the  mosquitoes  have  not 
molested  us.  We  owe  much  of  our  comfort  to  the  house 
we  are  in,  for  there  are  scarcely  any  furnished  lodgings, 
and  the  hotels  are  bad  and  dear,  besides  situation  is 
everything  at  this  season,  when  the  smaller  canals  be- 
come offensive  at  low  water,  for,  though  there  is  little 
tide  in  the  Mediterranean,  there  are  four  feet  at  new  and 
full  moon  here,  which  is  a  great  blessing.  We  have  now 
seen  everything,  and  have  become  acquainted  with  every- 
body, and  met  with  kindness  and  attention  beyond  all 
description.  Many  of  the  great  ducal  families  still 
exist,  and  live  handsomely  in  their  splendid  palaces; 
indeed,  the  decay  of  Venice,  so  much  talked  of,  is 
quite  a  mistake ;  certainly  it  is  very  different  from 
what  it  was  in  its  palmy  days,  but  there  is  a  good 
deal  of  activity  and  trade.  The  abolition  of  the  law 


258  Mary  Somerville. 

of  primogeniture  has  injured  the  noble  families  more 
than  anything  else.  We  rise  early,  and  are  husy  indoors 
all  morning,  except  the  girls,  who  go  to  the  Academy  of 
the  Belle  Arti,  and  paint  from  ten  till  three.  We  dine  at 
four,  and  embark  in  our  gondola  at  six  or  seven,  and  row 
about  on  the  glassy  sea  till  nine,  when  we  go  to  the 
Piazza  of  San  Marco,  listen  to  a  very  fine  military  band, 
and  sit  gossiping  till  eleven  or  twelve,  and  then  row  home 
by  the  Grand  Canal,  or  make  a  visit  in  one  of  the  various 
houses  that  are  open  to  us.  One  of  the  most  remarkable 
of  tLdse  is  that  of  the  Countess  Mocenigo's,  who  has  in 
one  of  her  drawing-rooms  the  portraits  of  six  doges  of  the 
Mocenigo  name.  I  was  presented  by  her  to  the  Due  de 
Bordeaux,  the  other  evening,  a  fat  good-natured  looking 
person.  I  was  presented  also  to  the  Archduke — I  forget 
what — son  of  the  Archduke  Charles,  and  admiral  of  the 
fleet  here ;  a  nice  youth,  but  not  clever.  We  meet  him 
everywhere,  and  Somerville  dined  with  him  a  few  days 
ago.  The  only  strangers  of  note  are  the  Prince  of  Tour 
and  Taxis,  and  Marshal  Marmont.  The  Venetian  ladies 
are  very  ladylike  and  agreeable,  and  speak  beautifully. 
We  have  received  uncommon  kindness  from  Mr.  Eawdon 
Brown ;  he  has  made  us  acquainted  with  everybody,  as 
he  is  quite  at  home  here,  having  been  settled  in  Venice 
for  several  years,  and  has  got  a  most  beautiful  house 
fitted  up,  in  rococo  style,  with  great  taste ;  he  is  an  adept 
at  Venetian  history.  He  supplies  us  with  books,  which 

are  a  great  comfort The  other  evening  we  were 

surprised  by  a  perfect  fleet  of  gondolas  stopping  under 
our  windows,  from  one  of  which  we  had  the  most  beau- 
tiful serenade  ;  the  moonlight  was  like  day,  and  the  effect 
was  admirable.  There  was  a  fcsta  the  other  night  in  a 
church  on  the  water's  edge ;  the  shore  was  illuminated 


Letters.  259 

and  hundreds  of  gondolas  were  darting  along  like  swal- 
lows, the  gondoliers  rowing  as  if  they  had  been  mad, 
till  the  water  was  as.  much  agitated  as  if  there  had  been 
a  gale  of  wind :  nothing  could  be  more  animated.  You 
will  perceive  from  what  I  have  said  that  the  evening,  till 
a  late  hour,  is  the  time  for  amusement,  in  consequence  of 
which  I  follow  the  Italian  custom  of  sleeping  after  dinner, 
and  am  much  the  better  for  it.  This  place  agrees  par- 
ticularly well  with  all  of  us,  and  is  well  suited  for  old 

people,  who  require  air  without  fatigue 

Most  affectionately, 

MARY  SOMERVELLE. 


FROM  MRS.  SOMERVILLE  TO  WORONZOW  GREIG,  ES& 

VENICE,  21th  August,  1843. 
MY  DEAR  WOROXZOW, 

Your  excellent  letter,  giving  an  account  of  your 
agreeable  expedition  up  the  Rhine,  did  not  arrive  till 
nearly  a  month  after  it  was  written I  regret  ex- 
ceedingly you  could  not  stay  longer,  and  still  more  that 
you  could  not  come  on  and  pay  us  a  visit,  and  enjoy  the 
charm  of  summer  in  Venice,  so  totally  unlike  every  other 
place  in  every  respect.  I  wished  for  you  last  night  par- 
ticularly. As  we  were  leaving  the  Piazza  San  Marco, 
about  eleven,  a  boat  came  up,  burning  blue  lights,  with  a 
piano,  violins,  flutes,  and  about  twenty  men  on  board, 
who  sang  choruses  in  the  most  delightful  manner,  and 
sometimes  solos.  They  were  followed  by  an  immense 
number  of  gondolas,  and  we  joined  the  cortege,  and  all 
went  under  the  Bridge  of  Sighs,  where  the  effect  was 
beautiful  beyond  description.  We  then  all  turned  and 
entered  the  Grand  Canal,  which  was  entirely  filled  with 

82 


260  Mary  Somerville* 

gondolas  from  one  side  to  the  other,  jammed  together,  so 
that  we  moved  en  masse,  and  stopped  every  now  and  then 
to  burn  blue  or  red  Bengal  lights  before  the  principal 
palaces,  singing  going  on  all  the  while.  We  saw  num- 
bers of  our  Venetian  friends  in  their  gondolas,  enjoying 
the  scene  as  much  as  we  did,  to  whom  it  was  almost  new. 
I  never  saw  people  who  enjoyed  life  more,  and  they 
have  much  the  advantage  of  us  in  their  delicious  climate 
and  aquatic  amusements,  so  much  more  picturesque  than 
what  can  be  done  on  land.  However,  we  have  had  no 
less  than  three  dances  lately.  The  Grand  Duke  of  Mo- 
dena,  with  his  son  and  daughter-in-law,  were  here,  and  to 
them  &fete  was  given  by  the  Countess  d'e  Thurn.  The 
palace  was  brilliant  with  lights ;  it  is  on  the  grand  canal, 
and  immediately  under  the  balcony  was  a  boat  from 
which  fireworks  were  let  off,  and  then  a  couple  of  boats 
succeeded  them,  in  which  choruses  were  sung.  The  view 
from  the  balcony  is  one  of  the  finest  in  Venice,  and  the 
night  was  charming,  and  there  I  was  while  the  dancing 

went  on I  never  saw  Somerville  so  well;    this 

place  suits  us  to  the  life,  constant  air  and  no  fatigue ;    I 

never  once  have  had  a  headache Now,  my  dear 

W.,  tell  me  your  tale ;  my  tale  is  done. 

Yours  affectionately, 

MARY  SOMERVILLE. 


FROM  MRS.  SOMERVILLE  TO  WORONZOW  GREIG,  ESQ. 
ROME,  PALAZZO  LEPRI,  VIA  DEI  CONDOTTI,  27th  October,  1843. 
MY  DEAREST  WORONZOW, 

We  had  a  beautiful  journey  to  Eome, 

with  fine  weather  and  no  annoyance,  notwithstanding  the 
disturbed  state  of  the  country.     At  Padua  we  only  re- 


Fcrrara.  261 

mained  long  enough  to  see  the  churches,  and  it  was 
impossible  to  pass  within  a  few  miles  of  Arqua  without 
paying  a  visit  to  the  liouse  of  Petrarch.  At  Ferrara  we 
had  a  letter  to  the  Cardinal  Legate,  who  was  very  civil. 
His  palace  is  the  ancient  abode  of  the  house  of  Este. 
....  We  had  a  long  visit  from  him  in  the  evening,  and 
found  him  most  agreeable ;  he  regretted  that  there  was 
no  opera,  as  he  would  have  been  happy  to  offer  us  his 
box.  Fourteen  of  those  unfortunate  men  who  have  been 
making  an  attempt  to  raise  an  insurrection  were  arrested 
the  day  before ;  and  the  night  before  we  slept  at  Lugo, 
the  Carabineers  had  searched  the  inn  during  the  night, 
entering  the  rooms  where  the  people  were  sleeping.  •  We 
should  have  been  more  than  surprised  to  have  been 
wakened  by  armed  men  at  midnight.  In  travelling 
through  Italy  the  reliques  and  history  of  the  early  Chris- 
tians and  of  the  Middle  Ages  have  a  greater  attraction  for 
me  than  those  of  either  the  Romans  or  Etruscans,  interest- 
ing though  these  latter  be,  and  in  this  journey  my  taste  was 
amply  gratified,  especially  at  Ravenna,  where  the  church 
of  San  Vitale  and  the  Basilica  of  St.  ApoUinare  in  Classis, 
both  built  early  in  the  6th  century,  are  the  most  magnifi- 
cent specimens  imaginable.  Here  also  is  the  tomb  of 
Theodore,  a  most  wonderful  building ;  the  remains  of  his 
palace  and  numberless  other  objects  of  interest,  too 
tedious  to  mention.  Every  church  is  full  of  them,  and 
most  valuable  MSS.  abound  in  the  libraries.  I  like  the 
history  of  the  Middle  Ages,  because  one  feels  that  there  is 
something  in  common  between  them  and  us ;  their  names 
still  exist  in  their  descendants,  who  often  inhabit  the 
very  palaces  they  dwelt  in,  and  their  very  portraits,  by 
the  great  masters,  still  hang  in  their  halls ;  whereas  we 
know  nothing  about  the  Greeks  and  Romans  except  their 


262  Mary  Somerville. 

public  deeds — their  private  life  is  a  blank  to  us.  Our 
journey  through  the  Apennines  was  most  beautiful,  pass- 
ing for  days  under  the  shade  of  magnificent  oak  forests 
or  valleys  rich  in  wine,  oil,  grain,  and  silk.  We  deviated 
from  the  main  road  for  a  short  distance  to  Gubbio,  to  see 
the  celebrated  Eugubian  tables,  which  are  as  sharp  as  if 
they  had  been  engraved  yesterday,  but  in  a  lost  language. 
We  stopped  to  rest  at  Perugia,  but  all  our  friends  were  at 
their  country  seats,  which  we  regretted.  The  country 
round  Perugia  is  unrivalled  for  richness  and  beauty,  but 
it  rained  the  morning  we  resumed  our  journey.  It  signi- 
fied the  less  as  we  had  been  previously  at  Citta  clella 
Pieve  and  Chiusi ;  so  we  proceeded  to  Orvieto  in  fine 
weather,  still  through  oak  forests.  Orvieto  is  situated  on 
the  top  of  an  escarped  hill,  very  like  the  hill  forts  of 
India,  and  apparently  as  inaccessible ;  yet,  by  dint  of 
numberless  turns  and  windings,  we  did  get  up,  but  only 
in  time  for- bed.  Next  morning  we  saw  the  sun  rise  on 
the  most  glorious  cathedral.  After  all  we  had  seen  we 
were  completely  taken  by  surprise,  and  were  filled  with 
the  highest  admiration  at  the  extreme  beauty  and  fine 

taste  of  this  remarkable  building 

Your  affectionate  mother, 

MARY  SOMERVILLE. 


FKOM  MISS  JOANNA  BAILLIE  TO  MRS.   SOMERVILLE. 

HAMPSTEAD,  December  27th,  1843. 
MY  DEAR  MRS.  SOMERVILLE, 

Besides  being  proud  of  receiving  a  letter  from  you, 
I  was  much  pleased  to  know  that  I  am,  though  at  such 
a  distance,  sometimes  in  your  thoughts.  I  was  much 


Joanna  Bailiie.  263 

pleased,  too,  with  what  you  have  said  of  the  health  and 
other  gratifications  you  enjoy  in  Italy.  I  should  gladly 
have  thanked  you  at  the  time,  had  I  known  how  to 
address  my  letter ;  and  after  receiving  your  proper 
direction  from  our  friend  Miss  Montgomery,  I  have 
been  prevented  from  using  it  by  various  things  .... 
But  though  so  long  silent  I  have  not  been  ungrateful, 
and  thank  you  with  all  my  heart.  The  account  you 
give  of  Venice  is  very  interesting.  There  is  something 
affecting  in"  still  seeing  the  descendants  of  the  former 
Doges  holding  a  diminished  state  in  their  remaining 
palaces  with  so  much  courtesy.  I  am  sure  you  have  found 
yourself  a  guest  in  their  saloons,  hung  with  paintings 
of  their  ancestors,  with  very  mixed  feelings.  However, 
Venice  to  the  eye,  as  you  describe  it,  is  Venice  still  ; 
and  with  its  lights  at  night  gleaming  upon  the  waters 
makes  a  very  vivid  picture  to  my  fancy.  You  no  doubt 
have  fixed  it  on  canvas,  and  can  carry  it  about  with  you 
for  the  delight  of  your  friends  who  may  never  see  the 
original. 

In  return  to  your  kind  inquiries  after  us,  I  have,  all 
things  considered,  a  very  good  account  to  give.  Ladies 
of  four  score  and  upwards  cannot  expect  to  be  robust, 
and  need  not  be  gay.  We  sit  by  the  fire-side  with 
our  books  (except  when  those  plaguy  notes  are  to  be 
written)  and  receive  the  visits  of  our  friendly  neighbours 
very  contentedly,  and,  I  ought  to  say,  and  trust  I 

may  say,  very  thankfully This  morning  brought 

one  in  whom  I  feel  sure  that  you  and  your  daughters 
take  some  interest,  Maria  Edgeworth.  She  has  been 
dangerously  ill,  but  is  now  nearly  recovered,  and  is 
come  from  Ireland  to  pass  the  winter  months  with 
her  sisters  in  London :  weak  in  body,  but  the  mind 


264  Mary  Somerville. 

as  clear  and  the  spirits  as  buoyant  as  ever.  You  will 
be  glad  to  hear  that  she  even  has  it  in  her  thoughts 
to  write  a  new  work,  and  has  the  plan  of  it  nearly 
arranged.  There  will  be  nothing  new  in  the  story 
itself,  but  the  purpose  and  treating  of  it  will  be  new, 
which  is,  perhaps,  a  better  thing.  In  our  retired  way  of 
living,  we  know  little  of  what  goes  on  in  the  literary 

world I  was,  however,  in  town  for  a  few  hours 

the  other  day,  and  called  upon  a  lady  of  rank  who  has 
fashionable  learned  folks  coming  about  her,  and  she  in- 
formed me  that  there  are  new  ideas  regarding  philosophy 
entertained  in  the  world,  and  that  Sir  John  Herschel 
was  now  considered  as  a  slight,  second-rate  man,  or 
person.  Who  are  the  first-rate  she  did  not  say,  and,  I 
suppose,  you  will  not  be  much  mortified  to  hear  that  your 
name  was  not  mentioned  at  all.  So  much  for  our  learning. 
My  sister  was  much  disappointed  the  other  day  when,  in 
expectation  of  a  ghost  story  from  Mr.  Dickens,  she  only 
got  a  grotesque  moral  allegory ;  now,  as  she  delights  in 
a  ghost  and  hates  an  allegory,  this  was  very  provoking. 

Believe  me, 
My  dear  Mrs.  Somerville, 

Yours  with  admiration  and  esteem, 

J.  BAILLIE. 


FEOM  MISS  JOANNA  BAILLIE  TO  MRS.  SOMERVILLE. 

HAMPSTEAD,  January  9th,  1851. 
MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 

My  dear  Mary  Somerville,  whom  I  am  proud  to 
call  my  friend,  and  that  she  so  calls  me.  I  could  say 
much  on  this  point,  but  I  dare  not.  I  received  your 


Sir  John  Herschel.  265 

letter  from  Mr.  Greig  last  night,  and  thank  you  very 
gratefully.  If  my  head  were  less  confused  I  should  do  it 
better,  but  the  pride-I  have  in  thinking  of  YOU  as  philoso- 
pher and  a  woman  cannot  be  exceeded.  I  shall  read  your 
letter  many  times  over.  My  sister  and  myself  at  so  great 
an  age  are  waiting  to  be  called  away  in  mercy  by  an 
Almight}T  Father,  and  we  part  with  our  earthly  friends  as 
those  whom  we  shall  meet  again.  My  great  monster 
book  is  now  published,  and  your  copy  I  shall  send  to  your 
son  who  will  peep  into  it,  and  then  forward  it  to  your- 
self. I  beg  to  be  kindly  and  respectfully  remembered  to 
your  husband;  I  offer  my  best  wishes  to  your  daugh- 
ters. •  •  •  • 

Yours,  my  dear  Friend, 

Very  faithfully, 

JOANNA  BAILLIE. 

My  sister  begs  of  you  and  all  your  family  to  accept  her 
best  wishes. 


FROM  SIR  JOHN  HERSCHEL  TO  MRS.  SOMERVILLE. 

\UU  March,  1844. 
MY  DEAR  MRS.   SOMERVILLE, 

To  have  received  a  letter  from  you  so  long  ago,  and 
not  yet  to  have  thanked  you  for  it,  is  what  I  could  hardly 
have  believed  myself — if  the  rapid  lapse  of  time  in  the 
uniform  retirement  in  which  we  live  were  not  pressed  upon 
me  in  a  variety  of  ways  which  convince  me  that  as  a  man 
grows  older,  his  sand,  as  the  grains  get  low  in  the  glass, 
slips  through  more  glibly,  and  steals  away  with  accele- 
rated speed.  I  wish  I  could  either  send  you  a  copy  of 
my  Cape  observations,  or  tell  you  they  are  published 


266  Mary  Somerville. 

or  even  in  the  press.  Far  from  it — I  do  not'  expect  to 
"  go  to  press "  before  another  year  has  elapsed,  for 
though  I  have  got  rny  catalogues  of  Southern  nebulas 
and  Double  stars  reduced  and  arranged,  yet  there  is  a 
great  deal  of  other  matter  still  to  be  worked  through,  and 
I  have  every  description  of  reduction  entirely  to  execute 
myself.  These  are  very  tedious,  and  I  am  a  very  slow 
computer,  and  have  been  continually  taken  off  the  sub- 
ject by  other  matter,  forced  upon  me  by  "  pressure  from 
without."  What  I  am  now  engaged  on  is  the  monograph 
of  the  principal  Southern  Nebulae,  the  object  of  which  is 
to  put  on  record  every  ascertainable  particular  of  their 
actual  appearance  and  the  stars  visible  in  them,  so  as  to 
satisfy  future  observers  whether  new  stars  have  appeared, 
or  changes  taken  place  in  the  nebulosity.  To  what  an 
extent  this  work  may  go  you  may  judge  from  the  fact 
that  the  catalogue  of  visible  stars  actually  mapped  down 
in  their  places  within  the  space  of  less  than  a  square 
degree  in  the  nebula  about  77  Argus  which  I  have  just 
completed  comprises  between  1300  and  1400  stars. 
This  is  indeed  a  stupendous  object.  It  is  a  vastly  ex- 
tensive branching  and  looped  nebula,  in  the  centre  of  the 
densest  part  of  which  is  t]  Argus,  itself  a  most  remark- 
able star,  seeing  that  from  the  fourth  magnitude  which  it 
had  in  Ptolemy's  time,  it  has  risen  (by  sudden  starts,  and 
not  gradually)  to  such  a  degree  of  brilliancy  as  now 
actually  to  surpass  Canopus,  and  to  be  second  only  to 
Sirius.  One  of  these  leaps  I  myself  witnessed  when  in 
the  interval  of  ceasing  to  observe  it  in  one  year,  and  re- 
suming its  observation  in  two  or  three  months  after  in 
the  next,  it  had  sprung  over  the  heads  of  all  the  stars  of 
the  first  magnitude,  from  Fomalhaut  and  Begulus  (the 
two  least  of  them)  to  a  Centauri,  which  it  then  just 


Planetary  Nebuks.  26/ 

equalled,  and  which  is  the  brightest  of  all  but  Canopus 
and  Sirius !  It  has  since  made  a  fresh  jump — and  who 
can  say  it  will  be  the  last  ? 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  objects  in  the  southern 
hemisphere  is  a  pretty  large,  perfectly  round,  and  very 
well-defined  planetary  nebula,  of  a  fine,  full  independent 
blue  colour — the  only  object  I  have  ever  seen  in  the 
heavens  fairly  entitled  to  be  called  independently  blue,- 
i.e.,  not  by  contrast.  Another  superb  and  most  striking 
object  is  Lacaille's  30  Doradus,  a  nebula  of  great  size  in 
the  larger  nubicula,  of  which  it  is  impossible  to  give  a 
better  idea  than  to  compare  it  to  a  "true  lover's  knot," 
or  assemblage  of  nearly  circular  nebulous  loops  uniting 
in  a  centre,  in  or  near  which  is  an  exactly  circular  round 
dark  hole.  Neither  this  nor 'the  nebula  about  f\  Argus 
have  any,  the  slightest,  resemblance  to  the  representations 

given  of  them  by  Dunlop As  you  are  so  kind  as  to 

offer  to  obtain  information  on  any  points  interesting  to 
me  at  Rome,  here  is  one  on  which  I  earnestly  desire  to 
obtain  the  means  of  forming  a  correct  opinion,  i.e.,  the 
real  powers  and  merits  of  De  Vico's  great  refractor  at  the 
Collegio  Romano.  De  Vico's  accounts  of  it  appear  to 
me  to  have  not  a  little  of  the  extra-marvellous  in  them. 
Saturn's  two  close  satellites  regularly  observed — eight 
stars  in  the  trapezium  of  Orion !  a  Aquila3  (as  Schuma- 
cher inquiringly  writes  to  me)  divided  into  three !  the 
supernumerary  divisions  of  Saturn's  ring  well  seen,  &c., 
.  &.c.  And  all  by  a  Cauchoix  refractor  of  eight  inches  ?  I 
fear  me  that  these  wonders  are  not  for  female  eyes,  the 
good  monks  are  too  well  aware  of  the  penetrating  quali- 
ties of  such  optics  to  allow  them  entry  svithin  the  seven- 
fold walls  of  their  Collegio.  Has  Somerville  ever  looked 
through  it?  On  his  report  I  know  I  could  quite  rely.  As 


268  Mary  Somerville. 

for  Lord  Eosse's  great  reflector,  I  can  only  tell  you  what  I 
hear,  having  never  seen  it,  or  even  his  three  feet  one. 
The  great  one  is  not  yet  completed.  Of  the  other, 
those  who  have  looked  through  it  speak  in  raptures.  I 
met  not  long  since  an  officer  who,  at  Halifax  in  Nova 
Scotia,  saw  the  comet  at  noon  close  to  the  sun,  and  very 
conspicuous  the  day  after  the  perihelion  passage. 

Your  account  of  the  pictures  and  other  ddidce,  'of 
Venice  makes  our  mouths  water ;  but  it  is  of  no  use,  so 
we  can  only  congratulate  those  who  are  in  the  full  enjoy- 
ment of  such  things.. 

Ever  yours  most  truly, 

J.  HERSCHEL. 


On  returning  to  Rome  I  was  elected  Associate  of 
the  College  of  Risurgenti,  and  in  the  following  April 
I  became  an  honorary  member  of  the  Imperial  and 
Royal  Academy  ol  Science,  Literature  and  Art  at 
Arezzo.  I  finished  an  edition  of  the  Physical 
Sciences,  at  which  I  had  been  working,  and  in 
spring  Somerville  hired  a  small  house  belonging 
to  the  Duca  Sforza  Cesarini,  at  Genzano,  close  to 
and  with  a  beautiful  view  of  the  Lake  of  Nemi; 
but  as  I  had  not  seen  my  son  for  some  time,  I 
now  availed  myself  of  the  opportunity  of  travelling 
with  our  friend  Sir  Frederick  Adam  to  England. 
We  crossed  the  Channel  at  Ostend,  and  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Thames  lay  the  old  "  Venerable," 
in  which  my  father  was  flag-captain  at  the 


Visits  in  England.  269 

battle  of  Camperdown.  I  had  a  joyful  meeting 
with  my  son  and  his  wife,  and  we  went  to  see 
many  things  that  were  new  to  me.  One  of  our 
first  expeditions  was  to  the  British  Museum.  I  had 
already  seen  the  Elgin  marbles,  and  the  antiquities 
collected  at  Babylon  by  Mr.  Eich,  when  he  was 
Consul  at  Bagdad,  but  now  the  Museum  had  been 
enriched  by  the  marbles  from  Halicarnassus,  and 
by  the  marvellous  remains  excavated  by  Mr.  Layard 
from  the  ruins  of  Nineveh,  the  very  site  of  which 
had  been  for  ages  unknown. 

I  frequently  went  to  Turner's  studio,  and  was 
always  welcomed.  No  one  could  imagine  that  so 
much  poetical  feeling  existed  in  so  rough  an  exterior. 
The  water-colour  exhibitions  were  very  good ;  my 
countrymen  still  maintained  their  superiority  in  that 
style  of  art,  and  the  drawings  of  some  English  ladies 
were  scarcely  inferior  to  those  of  first-rate  artists, 
especially  those  of  my  friend,  Miss  Blake,  of 
Danesbury. 

While  in  England  I  made  several  visits ;  the  first 
was  to  my  dear  friends  Sir  John  and  Lady  Herschel, 
at  Collingwood,  who  received  me  with  the  warmest 
affection.  I  cannot  express  the  pleasure  it  gave  me 
to  feel  myself  at  home  in  a  family  where  not  only 
the  highest  branches  of  science  were  freely  discussed, 
but  where  the  accomplishments  and  graces  of  life 


270  Mary  Somerville. 

were  cultivated.  I  was  highly  gratified  and  proud 
of  being  godmother  to  Rosa,  the  daughter  of  Sir 
John  and  Lady  Herschel.  Among  other  places  near 
Collingwood  I  was  taken  to  see  an  excellent  observa- 
tory formed  by  Mr.  Dawes,  a  gentleman  of  inde- 
pendent fortune ;  and  here  I  must  remark,  to  the 
honour  of  my  countrymen,  that  at  the  time  I  am 
writing,  there  are  twenty-six  private  observatories  in 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  furnished  with  first-rate 
instruments,  with  which  some  of  the  most  important 
astronomical  discoveries  have  been  made. 

[I  received  the  following  letter  from  my  mother  while 
we  were  at  Genzano.  It  is  one  of  several  which  record 
in  her  natural  and  unaffected  words  my  mother's  profound 
admiration  for  Sir  John  Herschel. 

MRS.  SOMERVILLE  TO  MISS  SOMERVILLE. 

SYDENHAM,  1st  September,  1844. 
Sunday  Night. 

MY  DEAR  MARTHA, 

....  We  go  to  the  Herschels'  to-morrow,  and  there  I 
shall  finish  this  letter,  as  it  is  impossible  to  get  it  in 
time  for  Tuesday's'  post,  but  I  have  so  much  to  do  now 
that  you  must  not  expect  a  letter  every  post,  and  I  had 
no  time  to  begin  this  before,  and  I  am  too  tired  to  sit  up 
later  to-night 

COLLINGWOOD,  Monday. 

This  appears  to  be  a  remarkably  beautiful  place,  with 
abundance  of  fine  timber.  .  .  .  "W.  brought  your  dear  nice 


A   Godchild.  271 

letter ;  it  makes  me  long  to  be  with  you,  and,  please  God, 
I  shall  be  so  before  long,  as  I  set  off  this  day  fortnight.  . 

Wednesday. 

Yesterday  I  had  a  great  deal  of  scientific  talk  with 
Sir  John,  and  a  long  walk  in  the  grounds  which  are 
extensive,  and  very  pretty.  Then  the  Airys  arrived,  and 

we  had  a  large  party  at  dinner I  think,  now, 

as  I  always  have  done,  that  Sir  John  is  by  much  the 
highest  and  finest  character  I  have  ever  met  with ;  the 
most  gentlemanly  and  polished  mind,  combined  with  the 
most  exalted  morality,  and  the  utmost  of  human  attain- 
ment. His  view  of  everything  is  philosophic,  and  at  the 
same  time  highly  poetical,  in  short,  he  combines  every 
quality  that  is  admirable  and  excellent  with  the  most 
charming  modesty,  and  Lady  Herschel  is  quite  worthy  of 
such  a  husband,  which  is  the  greatest  praise  I  can  give 
her.  Their  kindness  and  affection  for  me  has  been  un- 
bounded. Lady  H.  told  me  she  heard  such  praises  of  you 
two  that  she  is  anxious  to  know  you,  and  she  hopes  you 
will  always  look  upon  her  and  her  family  as  friends.  The 
christening  went  off  as  well  as  possible.  Mr.  Airy  was 
godfather,  and  Mrs.  Airy  and  I  godmothers,  but  I  had 
the  naming  of  the  child — Matilda.  Rose,  after  Lady 
HerschelV  sister.  I  assure  you  I  was  quite  adroit  in 
taking  the  baby  from  the  nurse  and  giving  her  to  the 
clergyman.  Sir  John  took  Mrs.  Airy  and  me  a  drive  to  see 
a  very  fine  picturesque  castle  a  few  miles  off.  ...  I  have 
got  loads  of  things  for  experiments  on  light  from  Sir  John 
with  a  variety  of  papers,  and  you  may  believe  that  I  have 
profited  not  a  little  by  his  conversation,  and  have  a  thou- 
sand projects  for  study  and  writing,  so  I  think  painting 
will  be  at  a  standstill,  only  that  I  have  promised  to  paint 


272  Mary  Somerville. 

something  for  Lady  Herschel.  Sir  John  computes  four 
or  five  hours  every  day,  and  yet  his  Cape  observations 
will  not  be  finished  for  two  years.  I  have  seen  every- 
thing he  is  or  has  been  doing. 

Your  affectionate  mother, 

MARY  SOMERVILLE. 


[My  mother  continues  her  recollections  of  this  journey. 

My  next  visit  was  to  Lord  and  Lady  Charles  Percy, 
at  Guy's  Cliff,  in  Warwickshire,  a  pretty  picturesque 
place  of  historical  and  romantic  memory.  The 
society  was  pleasant,  and  I  was  taken  to  Kenil worth 
and  Warwick  Castle,  on  the  banks  of  the  Avon,  a 
noble  place,  still  bearing  marks  of  the  Wars  of  the 
Roses.  I  never  saw  such  magnificent  oak-trees  as 
those  on  the  Leigh  estate,  near  Guy's  Cliff. 

I  then  visited  my  maiden  namesake,  Mrs. 
Fairfax,  of  Gilling  Castle,  Yorkshire.  She  was  a 
highly  cultivated  person,  had  been  much  abroad, 
and  was  a  warm-hearted  friend.  I  was  much  inte- 
rested in  the  principal  room,  for  a  deep  frieze  sur- 
rounds the  wall,  on  which  are  painted  the  coats  of 
arms  of  all  the  families  with  whom  the  Fairfaxes 
have  intermarried,  ascending  to  very  great  antiquity ; 
besides,  every  pane  of  glass  in  a  very  large  bay 
window  in  the  same  room  is  stained  with  one  of 
these  coats  of  arms.  Every  morning  after  breakfast 


Jcdburgh  Abbey.  273 

a  prodigious  flock  of  pea-fowl  came  from  the  woods 
around  to  be  fed. 

I  now  went  to  the  vicinity  of  Kelso  to  visit  my 
brother  and  sister-in-law,  General  and  Mrs.  Elliot, 
who  lived  on  the  banks  of  the  Tweed.  We  went  to 
Jedburgh,  the  place  of  my  birth.  After  many  years 
I  still  thought  the  valley  of  the  Jed  very  beautiful ; 
I  fear  the  pretty  stream  has  been  invaded  by  manu- 
factories :  there  is  a  perpetual  war  between  civiliza- 
tion and  the  beauty  of  nature.  I  went  to  see  the  spot 
from  whence  I  once  took  a  sketch  of  Jedburgh  Abbey 
and  the  manse  in  which  I  was  born,  which  does  not 
exist,  I  believe,  now.  When  I  was  a  very  young  girl 
I  made  a  painting  from  this  sketch.  Our  next 
excursion  was  to  a  lonely  village  called  Yetholm,  in 
the  hills,  some  miles  from  Kelso,  belonging  to  the 
gipsies.  The  "  king  "  and  the  other  men  were  absent, 
but  the  women  were  civil,  and  some  of  them  very 
pretty.  Our  principal  object  in  going  there  was  to 
see  a  stone  in  the  wall  of  a  small  and  very  ancient 
church  at  Linton,  nearly  in  ruins,  on  which  is  carved 
in  relief  the  wyvern  and  wheel,  the  crest  of  the 
Somervilles. 

From  Kelso  I  went  to  Edinburgh  to  spend  a  few 
days  with  Lord  Jeffrey  and  his  family.  No  one  who 
had  seen  his  gentle  kindness  in  domestic  life,  and 
the  warmth  of  his  attachment  to  his  friends,  could 


274  Mary  Somerville. 

have  supposed  he  possessed  that  power  of  ridicule 
and  severity  which  made  him.  the  terror  of  authors. 
His  total  ignorance  of  science  may  perhaps  excuse 
him  for  having  admitted  into  the  "  Review" 
Brougham's  intemperate  article  on  the  undulatory 
theory  of  light,  a  discovery  which  has  immortalized 
the  name  of  Dr.  Young.  I  found  Edinburgh,  the 
city  of  my  early  recollections,  picturesque  and 
beautiful  as  ever,  but  enormously  increased  both  to 
the  north  and  to  the  south.  Queen  Street,  which  in 
my  youth  was  open  to  the  north  and  commanded  a 
view  of  the  Forth  and  the  mountains  beyond,  was 
now  in  the  middle  of  the  new  town.  All  those  I 
had  formerly  known  were  gone — a  new  generation 
had  sprung  up,  living  in  all  the  luxury  of  modern 
times.  On  returning  to  London  I  spent  a  pleasant 
time  with  my  son  and  his  wife,  who  invited  all  those 
to  meet  me  whom  they  thought  I  should  like  to  see. 

[My  mother  returned  to  Rome   in  autumn  in   com- 
pany with  an  old  Mend  and  her  daughter. 


The  winter  passed  without  any  marked  event,  but 
always  agreeably ;  new  people  came,  making  a  plea- 
sant variety  in  the  society,  which,  though  still 
refined,  was  beginning  to  be  very  mixed,  as  was 
amusingly  seen  at  Torlonia's  balls  and  tableaux, 


Pushing  People.  275 

where  many  of  the  guests  formed  a  singular  contrast 
with  the  beautiful  Princess,  who  was  of  the  historical 
family  of  the  Colormas.  I  was  often  ashamed  of 
my  countrymen,  who,  all  the  while  speaking  of 
the  Italians  with  contempt,  tried  to  force  themselves 
into  their  houses.  Prince  Borghese  refused  the 
same  person  an  invitation  to  a  ball  five  times.  I 
was  particularly  scrupulous  about  invitations,  and 
never  asked  for  one  in  my  life ;  nor  did  I  ever  seek 
to  make  acquaintances  with  the  view  of  being  in- 
vited to  their  houses. 

***** 
[The  following  letters  give  a  sketch  of  life  during  the 
summer  months  at  Rome : — 


MRS.  SOMERVILLE  TO  W.  GREIG,  ESQ. 

ROME,  3rd  Avff list,  1845. 
MY  DEAR   WOEONZOW, 

I  am  glad  you  are  so  much  pleased 

with  my  bust,  and  that  it  is  so  little  injured  after  having 
been  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  You  will  find  Macdonald 
a  very  agreeable  and  original  person.  As  to  spending  the 
summer  in  Rome,  you  may  make  yourself  quite  easy,  for 
the  heat  is  very  bearable,  the  thermometer  varying 
between  75°  and  80°  in  our  rooms  during  the  day,  which 
are  kept  in  darkness,  and  at  night  it  always  becomes 
cooler.  Thank  God,  we  are  all  quite  well,  and  Somerville 
particularly  so;  he  goes  out  during  the  day  to  amuse 

T2 


276  Mary  Somerville. 

himself,  and  the  girls  paint  in  the  Borghese  gallery.  As 
for  myself  I  have  always  plenty  to  do  till  half  past  three, 
when  we  dine,  and  after  dinner  I  sleep  for  an  hour  or 
more,  and  when  the  sun  is  set  we  go  out  to  wander  a  little, 
for  a  long  walk  is  too  fatiguing  at  this  season.  We  have 
very  little  society,  the  only  variety  we  have  had  was  a 
very  pretty  supper  party  given  by  Signore  Rossi,  the 
French  minister  to  the  Prince  and  Princess  de  Broglie, 
son  and  daughter-in-law  of  the  duke.  The  young  lady 
is  extremely  beautiful,  and  as  I  knew  the  late  Duchesse 
de  Broglie  (Madame  de  StaeTs  daughter)  we  soon  got 
acquainted.  They  are  newly  married,  and  have  come  to 
spend  part  of  the  summer  in  Rome,  so  you  see  people 
are  not  so  much  alarmed  as  the  English.  .  .  We  Avent 
yesterday  evening  to  see  the  Piazza  Navona  full  of  water ; 
it  is  flooded  every  Saturday  and  Sunday  at  this  season  ; 
there  is  music,  and  the  whole  population  of  Rome  is 
collected  round  it,  carts  and  carriages  splashing  through 
it  in  all  directions.  I  think  it  must  be  about  three  feet  deep. 
It  was  there  the  ancient  Romans  had  their  naval  games ; 
and  the  custom  of  filling  it  with  water  in  summer  has 
lasted  ever  since.  The  fountain  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  in  Rome,  which  is  saying  a  great  deal ;  indeed 
the  immense  gush  of  the  purest  water  from  innumerable 
fountains  in  every  street  and  every  villa  is  one  of  the 
peculiarities  of  Rome.  I  fear  from  what  I  have  heard  of 
those  in  Trafalgar  Square  that  the  quantity  of  water  will 
be  very  miserable. 

The  papers  (I  mean  the  Times),  are  full  of  abuse  of 
Mr.  Sedgwick  and  Dr.  Buckland,  but  their  adversaries 
write  such  nonsense  that  it  matters  little.  I  do  not 
think  I  have  anything  to  add  to  my  new  edition.  If 
you  hear  of  anything  of  moment  let  me  know.  Perhaps 


Life  at  Rome.  277 

something  may  have   transpired   at  the    British   Asso- 
ciation  

Your  affectionate  mother, 

MARY  SOMERVILLE. 


MRS.  SOMERVILLE  TO  W.  GREIG,  ESQ. 

ROME,  May  2Sth,  1845. 
MY   DEAR   WORONZOW, 

I  don't  know  why  I  have  so  long  delayed  writing 
to  you.  I  rather  think  it  is  because  we  have  been  living 
so  quiet  a  life,  one  day  so  precisely  similar  to  the  pre- 
ceding, that  there  has  been  nothing  worth  writing  about. 
This  is  our  first  really  summer-like  day,  and  splendid  it  is  ; 
but  we  are  sitting  in  a  kind  of  twilight.  The  only  means 
of  keeping  the  rooms  cool  is  by  keeping  the  house  dark 
and  shutting  out  the  external  air,  and  then  in  the  evening 
we  have  a  delightful  walk ;  the  country  is  splendid,  the 
Campagna  one  sheet  of  deep  verdure  and  flowers  of  every 
kind  in  abundance.  We  generally  have  six  or  seven  large 
nosegays  in  the  room ;  we  have  only  to  go  to  some  of  the 
neighbouring  villas  and  gather  them.  Most  of  the 
English  are  gone ;  people  make  a  great  mistake  in  not 
remaining  during  the  hot  weather,  this  is  the  time  for  en- 
joyment. We  are  busy  all  the  morning,  and  in  the  after- 
noon we  take  our  book  or  drawing  materials  and  sit  on 
the  grass  in  some  of  the  lovely  villas  for  hours ;  then  we 
come  home  to  tea,  and  are  glad  to  see  anyone  who  will 
come  in  for  an  hour  or  two.  We  have  had  a  son  ot 
Mr.  Babbage  here.  He  is  employed  in  making  the 
railway  that  is  to  go  from  Genoa  to  Milan,  and  he  was 
travelling  with  e.ight  other  Englishmen  who  came  to  make 


278  Mary  Somerville. 

arrangements  for  covering  Italy  with  a  network  of  these 
iron  roads,  connecting  all  the  great  cities  and  also  the 
two  seas  from  Venice  to  Milan  and  Genoa  and  from 
Ancona  by  Rome  to  Civita  Vecchia.  However  the  Pope  is 
opposed  to  the  latter  part,  but  they  say  the  cardinals  and 
people  wish  it  so  much  that  he  will  at  last  consent  .... 
Many  thanks  for  the  Vestiges,  &c.  I  think  it  a  powerful 
production,  and  was  highly  pleased  with  it,  but  I  can  easily 
see  that  it  will  offend  in  some  quarters ;  however  it 
should  be  remembered  that  there  has  been  as  much 
opposition  to  the  true  system  of  astronomy  and  to  geo- 
logical facts  as  there  can  be  to  this.  At  all  events  free 
and  open  discussion  of  all  natural  and  moral  phenomena 
must  lead  to  truth  at  last.  Is  Babbage  the  author  ?  I 
rather  think  he  would  not  be  so  careful  in  concealing  his 
name 

[My  mother  made  some  curious  experiments  upon  the 
effect  of  the  solar  spectrum  on  juices  of  plants  and  other 
substances,  of  which  she  sent  an  account  to  Sir  John 
Herschel,  who  answered  telling  her  that  he  had  com- 
municated her  account  of  her  experiments  to  the  EoyaJ 
Society.] 

SIR  JOHN  HEKSCHEL  TO  MRS.  SOMERVILLE. 

COLLINGWOOD,  November  21st,  1845. 

MY  DEAR  MRS.  SOMERVILLE, 

I  cannot  express  to  you  the  pleasure  I  experi- 
enced from  the  receipt  of  your  letter  and  the  perusal  of 
the  elegant  experiments  it  relates,  which  appear  to  me  of 
the  highest  interest  and  show  (what  I  always  suspected), 
that  there  is  a  world  of  wonders  awaiting  disclosure  in 


Mrs.   Somervilles  Experiments.  279 

the  solar  spectrum,  and  that  influences  widely  differing 
from  either  light,  heat  or  colour  are  transmitted  to  us 
from  our  central  luminary,  which  are  mainly  instrumental 
in  evolving  and  maturing  the  splendid  hues  of  the 
vegetable  creation  and  elaborating  the  juices  to  which 
they  owe  their  beauty  and  their  vitality.  I  think  it 
certain  that  heat  goes  for  something  in  evaporating  your 
liquids  and  thereby  causing  some  of  your  phenomena ; 
but  there  is  a  difference  of  quality  as  well  as  of  quantity 
of  heat  brought  into  view  which  renders  it  susceptible  of 
analysis  by  the  coloured  juices  so  that  in  certain  parts 
of  the  spectrum  it  is  retained  and  fixed,  in  others  reflected 
according  as  the  nature  of  the  tint  favours  the  one  or  the 
other.  Pray  go  on  with  these  delightful  experiments.  I 
wish  you  could  save  yourself  the  fatigue  of  watching  and 
directing  your  sunbeam  by  a  clock  work.  If  I  were  at 
your  elbow  I  could  rig  you  out  a  heliotrope  quite 
sufficient  with  the  aid  of  any  common  wooden  clock. 

Now  I  am  going  to  take  a  liberty  (but  not  till 

after  duly  consulting  Mr.  Greig  with  whose  approbation 
I  act,  and  you  are  not  to  gainsay  our  proceedings)  and 
that  is  to  communicate  your  results  in  the  form  of 
"  an  extract  of  a  letter  "  to  myself — to  the  Royal  Society. 
You  may  be  very  sure  that  I  would  not  do  this  if  I 
thought  that  the  experiments  were  not  intrinsically  quite 
deserving  to  be  recorded  in  the  pages  of  the  Phil.  Trans, 
and  if  I  were  not  sure  that  they  will  lead  to  a  vast  field 
of  curious  and  beautiful  research;  and  as  you  have 
already  once  contributed  to  the  Society,  (on  a  subject 
connected  with  the  spectrum  and  the  sunbeam)  this  will, 
I  trust,  not  appear  in  your  eyes  in  a  formidable  or  a 
repulsive  light,  and  it  will  be  a  great  matter  of  congratu- 
lation to  us  all  to  know  that  these  subjects  continue  to 


280  Mary  Spmerville. 

engage  your  attention,  and  that  you  can  turn  your 
residence  in  that  sunny  clime  to  such  admirable  account. 
So  do  not  call  upon  me  to  retract  (for  before  you  get  this 
the  papers  will  be  in  the  secretary's  hands). 

I  am  here  nearly  as  much  out  of  the  full  stream  of 
scientific  matters  as  you  at  Rome.  We  had  a  full  and 
very  satisfactory  meeting  at  Cambridge  of  the  British 
Association,  with  a  full  attendance  of  continental  magne- 
tists  and  meteorologists,  and  within  these  few  days  I 
have  learned  that  our  Government  meant  to  grant  all  our 
requests  and  continue  the  magnetic  and  meteorological 
observations.  Humboldt  has  sent  me  his  Cosmos  (Vol.  I.), 
which  is  good,  all  but  the  first  60  pages,  which  are 
occupied  in  telling  his  readers  what  his  book  is  not  to  be. 
Dr.  Whewell  has  just  published  another  book  on  the 
Principles  of  Morals,  and  also  another  on  education,  in 
which  he  cries  up  the  geometrical  processes  in  preference 

to  analysis 

Yours  very  faithfully, 

J.  HERSCHEL. 


The  Prince  and  Princesse  de  Broglie  came  to 
Rome  in  1845,  and  Signore  Pellegrino  Rossi,  at  this 
time  French  Minister  at  the  Vatican,  gave  them  a 
supper  party,  to  which  we  were  invited.  We  had 
met  with  him  long  before  at  Geneva,  where  he  had 
taken  refuge  after  the  insurrection  of  1821.  He  was 
greatly  esteemed  there  and  admired  for  his  eloquence 
in  the  lectures  he  gave  in  the  University.  It  was 


Rossi.  281 

a  curious  circumstance,  that  he,  who  was  a  Roman 
subject,  and  was  .exiled,  and,  if  I  am  not  mis- 
taken, condemned  to  death,  should  return  to  Rome 
as  French  Minister.  He  had  a  remarkably  fine 
countenance,  resembling  some  ancient  Roman  bust. 
M.  Thiers  had  brought  in  a  law  in  the  French 
Chambers  to  check  the  audacity  of  the  Jesuits,  and 
Rossi  was  sent  to  negotiate  with  the  Pope.  We  had 
seen  much  of  him  at  Rome,  and  were  horrified,  in 
1848,  to  hear  that  he  had  been  assassinated  on  the 
steps  of  the  Cancelleria,  at  Rome,  where  the  Legisla- 
tive Assembly  met,  and  whither  he  was  proceeding 
to  attend  its  first  meeting.  No  one  offered  to  assist 
him,  nor  to  arrest  the  murderers  except  Dr.  Panta- 
leone,  a  much  esteemed  Roman  physician,  and  mem- 
ber of  the  Chamber,  who  did  what  he  could  to  save 
him,  but  in  vain ;  he  was  a  great  loss  to  the  Liberal 
cause. 

Towards  the  end  of  summer  we  spent  a  month 
most  agreeably  at  Subiaco,  receiving  much  civility 
from  the  Benedictine  monks  of  the  Sacro  Speco,  and 
visiting  all  the  neighbouring  towns,  each  one  perched 
on  some  hill- top,  and  one  more  romantically  pictur- 
esque than  the  other.  It  was  in  this  part  of  the 
country  that  Claude  Lorraine  and  Poussin  studied 
and  painted.  I  never  saw  more  beautiful  country, 
or  one  which  afforded  so  many  exquisite  subjects  for 


282  Mary  Somerville. 

a  landscape  painter.  We  went  all  over  the  country 
on  mules — to  some  of  the  towns,  such  as  Cervara,  up 
steep  flights  of  steps  cut  in  the  rock.  The  people, 
too,  were  extremely  picturesque,  and  the  women 
still  wore  their  costumes,  wLich  probably  now  they 
have  laid  aside  for  tweeds  and  Manchester  cottons. 

I  often  during  my  winters  in  Rome  went  to  paint 
from  nature  in  the  Campagna,  either  with  Somer- 
ville  or  with  Lady  Susan  Percy,  who  drew  very 
prettily.  Once  we  set  out  a  little  later  than  usual, 
when,  driving  through  the  Piazza  of  the  Bocca  della 
Verita,  we  both  called  out,  "  Did  you  see  that  ? 
How  horrible  !  "  It  was  the  guillotine  ;  an  execution 
had  just  taken  place,  and  had  we  been  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  earlier  we  should  have  passed  at  the  fatal 
moment.  Under  Gregory  XVI.  everything  was 
conducted  in  the  most  profound  secrecy ;  arrests 
were  made  almost  at  our  very  door,  of  which  we 
knew  nothing  ;  Mazzini  was  busily  at  work  on  one 
side,  the  Jesuitical  party  actively  intriguing,  accord- 
ing to  their  wont,  on  the  other ;  and  in  the  mean 
time  society  went  on  gaily  at  the  surface,  ignorant 
of  and  indifferent  to  the  course  of  events.  We 
were  preparing  to  leave  Eome  when  Gregory  died. 
We  put  off  our  journey  to  see  his  funeral,  and 
the  Conclave,  which  terminated,  in  the  course 
of  scarcely  two  days,  in  the  election  of  Pius  IX. 


Pio  IX.  283 

We  also  saw  the  new  Pope's  coronation,  and 
witnessed  the  beginning  of  that  popularity  which 
lasted  so  short  a  time.  Much  was  expected 
from  him,  and  in  the  beginning  of  his  reign 
the  moderate  liberals  fondly  hoped  that  Italy 
would  unite  in  one  great  federation,  with  Pius  IX. 
at  the  head  of  it ;  entirely  forgetting  how  incom- 
patible a  theocracy  or  government  by  priests  ever 
must  be  with  all  progress  and  with  liberal  institu- 
tions. Their  hopes  were  soon  blighted,  and  after  all 
the  well-known  events  of  1848  and  1849,  a  reaction 
set  in  all  over  Italy,  except  in  gallant  little  Pied- 
mont, where  the  constitution  was  maintained, 
thanks  to  Victor  Emmanuel,  and  especially  to  that 
great  genius,  Camillo  Cavour,  and  in  spite  of  the 
disastrous  reverses  at  Novara.  Once  more  in  1859 
Piedmont  went  to  war  with  Austria,  this  time  with 
success,  and  with  the  not  disinterested  help  of 
France.  One  province  after  another  joined  her, 
and  Italy,  freed  from  all  the  little  petty  princes, 
and  last,  not  least,  from  the  Bourbons,  has  become 
that  one  great  kingdom  which  was  the  dream  of 
some  of  her  greatest  men  in  times  of  old. 

We  went  to  Bologna  for  a  short  time,  and  there 
the  enthusiasm  for  the  new  Pope  was  absolutely 
intolerable.  "  Viva  Pio  Nono  ! "  was  shouted  night 

o 

and  day.     There  was  no  repose  ;  bands  of  music 


284  Mary  Somerville. 

went  about  the  streets,  playing  airs  composed  for 
the  occasion,  and  in  the  theatres  it  was  even  worse, 
for  the  acting  was  interrupted,  and  the  orchestra 
called  upon  to  play  the  national  tunes  in  vogue, 
and  repeat  them  again  and  again,  amid  the  deafen- 
ing shouts  and  applause  of  the  excited  audience. 
We  found  the  Bolognese  very  sociable,  and  it  was 
by  far  the  most  musical  society  I  ever  was  in. 
Rossini  was  living  in  Bologna,  and  received  in  the 
evening,  and  there  was  always  music,  amateur  and 
professional,  at  his  house.  Frequently  there  was 
part-singing  or  choruses,  and  after  the  music  was 
over  the  evening  ended  with  a  dance.  We  fre- 
quently saw  Rossini  some  years  later,  when  we 
resided  at  Florence.  He  was  clever  and  amusing  in 
conversation,  but  satirical.  He  was  very  bitter 
against  the  modern  style  of  opera-singing,  and  con- 
sidered the  singers  of  the  present  day,  with  some 
exceptions,  as  wanting  in  study  and  finish.  He 
objected  to  much  of  the  modern  music,  as  dwelling 
too  constantly  on  the  highest  notes  of  the  voice, 
whereby  it  is  very  soon  deteriorated,  and  the  singer 
forced  to  scream  ;  besides  which,  he  considered  the 
orchestral  accompaniments  too  loud.  I,  who  recol- 
lected Pasta,  Malibran,  Grisi,  Rubini,  and  others  of 
that  epoch,  could  not  help  agreeing  with  him  when 
I  compared  them  to  the  singers  I  heard  at  the 


Assassination.  285 

Pergola  and  elsewhere.     The  theatre,  too,  was  good 
at  Bologna,  and  we  frequently  went  to  it. 

One  evening  we  "were  sitting  on  the  balcony  of 
the  hotel,  when  we  saw  a  man  stab  another  in  the 
back  of  the  neck,  and  then  run  away.  The  victim 
staggered  along  for  a  minute,  and  then  fell  down  in 
a  pool  of  blood.  He  had  been  a  spy  of  the  police 
under  Gregory  XVI.,  and  one  of  the  principal 
agents  of  his  cruel  government.  He  was  so  ob- 
noxious to  the  people  that  his  assassin  has  never 

been  discovered. 

* 

From  Bologna  we  went  for  a  few  weeks  to 
Eecoaro,  where  I  drank  the  waters,  after  which  we 
travelled  to  England  by  the  St.  Gothard  pass. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

PUBLISHES  "PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY" — LETTER  FROM  HUMBOLDT— CHRIST- 
MAS AT  COLLINGWOOD — LETTER  FROM  MRS.  SOMERVILLE— FARADAY 
—  LETTER  FROM  FARADAY — KEITH  JOHNSTONE'S  MAPS— WINTER  AT 
MUNICH  — SALZBURG — LAKE  OF  GARDA— MINISCALCHI— POEM  BY 
CATERINA  BRENZONI— LETTER  FROM  B REN ZONI— LETTER  FROM  MRS. 
SOMERVILLE— ^LOGE  BY  MINISCALCHI — WINTER  AT  TURIN— BARON 

PLANA CAMILLO   CAVOUR-  COLLINE  NEAR  TURIN— GENOA — TERESA 

DOVIA — FLORENCE — MISS  F.  P.  COBBE— VIVISECTION— EXCURSIONS  IN 
THE  NEIGHBOURHOOD — CHOLERA — MISERICORDIA— PIO  NONO  IN 
TUSCANY  —  COMET — TUSCAN  REVOLUTION — WAR  IN  LOMBARDY — 
ENTRY  OF  VICTOR  EMMANUEL  INTO  FLORENCE— LETTERS  FROM  MRS. 
SOMERVILLE — MY  FATHER'S  DEATH — LETTER  FROM  MISS  COBBE. 

WE  spent  the  autumn  in  visiting  my  relations  on 
the  banks  of  the  Tweed.  I  was  much  out  of  health 
at  the  time.  As  winter  came  on  I  got  better,  and 
was  preparing  to  print  my  "  Physical  Geography  " 
when  "  Cosmos  "  a.ppr  ared.  I  at  once  determined  to 
put  my  manuscript  in  the  fire  when  Somerville  said, 
"  Do  not  be  rash — consult  some  of  our  friends— 
Herschel  for  instance."  So  I  sent  the  MS.  to  Sir 
John  Herschel,  who  advised  me  by  all  means  to 
publish  it.  It  was  very  favourably  reviewed  by  Sir 
Henry  Holland  in  the  "  Quarterly,"  which  tended 


Humboldt's  Letter.  287 

much  to  its  success.  I  afterwards  sent  a  copy  of  a 
later  edition  to  Baron  Humboldt,  who  wrote  me  a 
very  kind  letter  in  return. 


BARON  nUMBOLDT  TO  MRS.    SOMERVILLE 

A  SANS  Souci,  ce  12  Juillct,  1849. 
MADAME, 

C'est  un  devoir  bien  doux  a  remplir,  Madame, 
que  de  vous  offrir  Fhommage  renouvelle  de  mon  devoue- 
ment  et  de  ma  respectueuse  admiration.  Ces  sentimens 
datent  de  bien  loin  chez  1'homme  antidiluvien  auquel 
vous  avez  daigne  adresser  des  lignes  si  aimables  et  la 
nouvelle  edition  de  ce  bel  ouvrage  qui  m'a  charme  et 
instruit  des  qu'il  avait  paru  pour  la  premiere  fois.  A  cette 
grande  superiorite  que  vous  possedez  et  qui  a  si  noble- 
rneiit  illustre  votre  nom,  dans  les  hautes  regions  de 
1'analyse  mathematique,  vous  joignez,  Madame,  une 
variete  de  connaissances  dans  toutes  les  parties  de  la 
physique  et  de  Fhistoire  naturelle  descriptive.  Apres 
votre  "  Mechanism  of  the  Heavens,"  le  philosophique 
ouvrage  "  Connexion  of  the  Physical  Sciences "  avait 
ete  1'objet  de  ma  constante  admiration.  Je  1'ai  lu  en  entier 
et  puis  relu  dans  la  septieme  edition  qui  a  paru  en  1846 
dans  les  terns  ou  nous  etions  plus  calme,  ou  Forage 
politique  ne  grondait  que  de  loin.  L'auteur  de  Tim- 
prudent  "  Cosmos  "  devoit  saluer  plus  que  tout  autre  la 
"  Geographic  Physique  "  de  Mary  Somerville.  J'ai  su 
me  la  procurer  des  les  premieres  semaines  par  les  soins 
de  notre  ami  commun  le  Chev.  Bunsen.  Je  ne  connais 
dans  aucune  langue  un  ouvrage  de  Geographic  physique 


288  Mary  Somerville. 

que  Ton  pourrait  comparer  au  votre.  Je  1'ai  de  nouveau 
etudie  dans  la  derniere  edition  que  je  dois  a  votre 
gracieuse  bienveillance.  Le  sentiment  de  precision  que 
vos  habitudes  de  "  Geometre  "  vous  ont  si  profondement 
imprime,  penetre  tous  vos  travaux,  Madame.  Aucun 
fait,  aucune  des  grandes  vues  de  la  nature  vous  echap- 
pent.  Vous  avez  profite  et  des  livres  et  des  conversa- 
tions des  vo}rageurs  dans  cette  malheureuse  Italic  oii 
passe  la  grande  route  de  1'Orient  et  de  1'Inde.  J'ai  ete 
surpris  de  la  justice  de  vos  apercus  sur  la  Geographic 
des  plantes  et  des  animaux.  Vous  dominez  dans  ces 
regions  comme  en  astronomic,  en  meteorologie,  en  ma- 
gnetisme.  Que  n'ajoutez-vous  pas  la  sphere  celeste, 
1'uranologie,  votre  patrimoine,  a  la  sphere  terrestre  ? 
C'est  vous  seule  qui  pourriez  donner  a  votre  belle  litera- 
ture un  ouvrage  cosmologique  original,  un  ouvrage  ecrit 
avec  cette  lucidite  et  ce  gout  que  distingue  tout  ce  qui 
est  emane  de  votre  plume.  On  a,  je  le  sais,  beaucoup  de 
bienveillance  pourmon  Cosmos  dans  votre  patrie;  mais  il 
en  est  des  formes  de  composition  litteraires,  comme  de  la 
variete  des  races  et  de  la  difference  primitive  deslangues. 
Un  ouvrage  traduit  manque  de  vie ;  ce  que  plait  surles  bords 
du  Rhin  doit  paraitre  bizarre  sur  les  bords  de  la  Tamise 
et  de  la  Seine.  Mon  ouvrage  est  une  production  essen- 
tiellement  allemande,  et  ce  caractere  meme,  j'en  suis  sur, 
loin  de  m'en  plaindre  lui  donne  le  gout  du  terroir.  Je 
jouis  d'une  bonne  fortune  a  laquelle  (a  cause  de  mon 
long  sejour  en  France,  de  nies  predilections  personnelles, 
de  mes  heresies  politiques)  le  Leopard  ne  m'avait  pas 
trop  accoutume.  Je  demande  a  1'illustre  auteur  du 
volume  sur  la  Mecanique  Celeste  d'avoir  le  courage 
d'aggrandir  sa  Geographic  Physique.  Je  suis  sur  que  le 
grand  homme  que  nous  aimons  le  plus,  vous  et  moi,  Sir 


Discovery  of  Neptune.  289 

John  Herschel,  serait  de  mon  opinion.  Le  MONDE,  je 
me  sers  du  titre  que  Descartes  voulait  donner  EI  un  livre 
dont  nous  n'avons  que  de  pauvres  fragmens ;  le  Monde 
doit  etre  ecrit  pour  les  Anglais  par  un  auteur  de  race  pure. 
II  n'y  a  pas  de  seve,  pas  de  vitalite  dans  les  traductions 
les  mieux  faites.  Ma  sante  s'est  conserve  miraculeuse- 
ment  a  1'age  de  quatre-vingts  ans,  de  mon  ardeur  pour 
le  travail  nocturne  au  milieu  des  agitations  d'une  position 
que  je  n'ai  pas  besoin  de  vous  depeindre  puisque  Fexcel- 

lente  Mademoiselle  de vous  Pa  fait  connaitre.     J'ai 

bouleverse,  change  mes  deux  volumes  des  "  Ansichten." 
II  n'en  est  reste  que  J.  C'est  comme  un  nouvel  ouvrage 
que  j'aurai  bientot  le  bonheur  de  vous  adresser  si 
M.  Cptta  pense  pouvoir  hasarder  une  publication  dans 
ces  terns  ou  la  force  physique  croit  guerir  un  mal  moral 
et  vacciner  le  contentement  a  TAllemagne  unitaire  ! !  Le 
troisieme  volume  de  mon  Cosmos  avance,  mais  la  serenite 
manque  aux  ames  moins  credules. 

Agreez,  je  vous  supplie,  l'hommage  de  mon  affectueuse 
et  respectueuse  reconnaissance, 

ALEXANDRE  DE  HUMBOLDT. 


Somerville  and  I  spent  the  Christmas  at  CoTling- 
wood  with  our  friends  the  Herschels.  The  party- 
consisted  of  Mr.  Airy,  Astronomer-Royal,  and  Mr. 
Adams,  who  had  taken  high  honours  at  Cambridge,, 
This  young  man  and  M.  Leverrier,  the*  celebrated 
French  astronomer,  had  separately  calculated  the 
orbit  of  Neptune  and  announced  it  so  nearly  at  the 


290  Mary  Somerville. 

same  time,  that  each  country  claims  the  honour  of 
the  discovery.  Mr.  Adams  told  Somerville  that  the 
following  sentence  in  the  sixth  edition  of  the  "  Con- 
nexion of  the  Physical  Sciences/'  published  in  the  year 
1842,  put  it  into  his  head  to  calculate  the  orbit  of 
Neptune.  "If  after  the  lapse  of  years  the  tables 
formed  from  a  combination  of  numerous  observa- 
tions should  be  still  inadequate  to  represent  the 
motions  of  Uranus,  the  discrepancies  may  reveal 
the  existence,  nay,  even  the  mass  and  orbit  of  a 
body  placed  for  ever  beyond  the  sphere  of  vision." 
That  prediction  was  fulfilled  in  1846,  by  the  dis- 
covery of  Neptune  revolving  at  the  distance  of 
3,000,000,000  of  miles  from  the  sun.  The  mass  of 
Neptune,  the  size  and  position  of  his  orbit  in  space, 
and  his  periodic  time,  were  determined  from  his  dis- 
turbing action  on  Uranus  before  the  planet  itself  had 
been  seen. 

We  left  Collingwood  as  ever  with  regret. 

[The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  my 
mother  during  this  visit : — 

FROM  MRS.   SOMERVILLE  TO  W.    GREIG,  ESQ. 

UOLLINGWOOD,  1st  January,  1848. 

.  .  .  .  You  can  more  easily  conceive  than  I  can 
describe  the  great  kindness  and  affection  which  we  have 
received  from  both  Sir  John  and  Lady  Herschel ;  I  feel 


Faraday.  291 

a  pride  and  pleasure  beyond  what  I  can  express  in  having 
such  friends.  Collingwood  is  a  house  by  itself  in  the 
world,  there  certainly  is  nothing  like  it  for  all  that  is 
great  and  good.  The  charm  of  the  conversation  is  only 
equalled  by  its  variety — every  subject  Sir  John  touches 
turns  to  doubly  refined  gold  ;  profound,  brilliant,  amiable, 
and  highly  poetical,  I  could  never  end  admiring  and 
praising  him.  Then  the  children  are  so  nice  and  he  so 
kind  and  amusing  to  them,  making  them  quite  his  friends 
and  companions. 

Yours,  my  dearest  Woronzow, 

Most  affectionately, 

M.  SOMERVILLE. 


We  had  formed  such  a  friendship  with  Mr.  Fara- 
day that  while  we  lived  abroad  he  sent  me  a  copy 
of  everything  he  published,  and  on  returning  to 
England  we  renewed  our  friendship  with  that  illus- 
trious philosopher,  and  attended  his  lectures  at  the 
Royal  Institution.  He  had  already  magnetized  a 
ray  of  polarised  light,  but  was  still  lecturing  on  the 
magnetic  and  diamagnetic  properties  of  matter.  At 
the  last  lecture  we  attended  he  showed  the  diamag- 
netism  of  flame,  which  had  been  proved  by  a  foreign 
philosopher.  Mr.  Faraday  never  would  accept  of 
any  honour ;  he  lived  in  a  circle  of  friends  to  whom 
he  was  deeply  attached.  A  touching  and  beautiful 
memoir  was  published  of  him  by  his  friend  and 

TT2 


292  Mary  Somerville. 

successor,  Professor  Tyndall,  an  experimental  phi- 
losopher of  the  very  highest  genius. 

[The  following  letter  was  the  last  my  mother  received 
from  Faraday : — 

FROM  PROFESSOR  FARADAY  TO   MRS.  SOMERVILLE. 

ROYAL  INSTITUTION,  nth  January,  1859. 
MY  DEAR  MRS.  SOMERVILLE, 

So  you  have  remembered  me  again,  and  I 
have  the  delight  of  receiving  from  you  a  new  copy  of 
that  work  which  has  so  often  instructed  me;  and 
I  may  well  say,  cheered  me  in  my  simple  homely  course 
through  life  in  this  house.  It  was  most  kind  to  think 
of  me ;  but  ah !  how  sweet  it  is  to  believe  that  I  have 
your  approval  in  matters  where  kindness  would  be 
nothing,  where  judgment  alone  must  rule.  I  almost 
doubt  myself  when  I  think  I  have  your  approbation, 
to  some  degree  at  least,  in  what  I  may  have  thought 
or  said  about  gravitation,  the  forces  of  nature,  their 
conservation,  &c.  As  it  is,  I  cannot  go  back  from  these 
thoughts;  on  the  contrary,  I  feel  encouraged  to  go  on 
by  way  of  experiment,  but  am  not  so  able  as  I  was 
formerly;  for  when  I  try  to  hold  the  necessary  group 
of  thoughts  in  mind  at  one  time,  with  the  judgment 
suspended  on  almost  all  of  them,  then  my  head  becomes 
giddy,  and  I  am  obliged  to  lay  all  aside  for  a  while. 
I  am  trying  for  time  in  magnetic  action,  and  do  not 
despair  of  reaching  it,  even  though  it  may  be  only  that 
of  light.  Nous  verrons. 

I  have  been  putting  into  one  volume  various  papers 


Faraday  s  Letter.  293 

of  mine  on  experimental  branches  in  chemistry  and 
physics.  The  index  and  title-page  has  gone  to  the 
printer,  and  I  expect  soon  to  receive  copies  from  him. 
I  shall  ask  Mr.  Murray  to  help  me  in  sending  one  to 
you  which  I  hope  you  will  honour  by  acceptance.  There 
is  nothing  new  in  it,  except  a  few  additional  pages  about 
" regelation,"  and  also  "gravity."  It  is  useful  to  get 
one's  scattered  papers  together  with  an  index,  and 
society  seems  to  like  the  collection  sufficiently  to  pay 

the  expenses Pray  remember   me   most  kindly 

to  all  with  whom  I  may  take  that  privilege,  and  believe 
me  to  be  most  truly, 

Your  admirer  and 

faithful  servant, 
M.  FAEADAT. 

[My  mother  wrote  of  this  letter  : — 

FLORENCE,  8th  February,  1859. 

.  .  .  .  I  have  had  the  most  charming  and 
gratifying  letter  from  Faraday ;  I  cannot  tell  you 
how  I  value  such  a  mark  of  approbation  and  friend- 
ship from  the  greatest  experimental  philosopher  and 
discoverer  next  to  Newton. 


•  We  returned  to  the  continent  in  autumn,  so  I 
could  not  superintend  the  publication  of  my  "Phy- 
sical Geography, "but  Mr.  Pentland  kindly  undertook 
to  carry  it  through  the  press.  Though  I  never  was 
personally  acquainted  with  Mr.  Keith  Johnston,  of 


294  Mary  Somerville. 

Edinburgh,  that  eminent  geographer  gave  me  copies 
of  both  the  first  and  second  editions  of  his  splendid 
"  Atlas  of  Physical  Geography,"  which  were  of  the 
greatest  use  to  me.  Besides,  he  published  some  time 
afterwards  a  small  "  School  Atlas  of  Ancient,  Modern, 
and  Physical  Geography,"  intended  to  accompany  my 
work  ;  obligations  which  I  gratefully  acknowledge. 
No  one  has  attempted  to  copy  my  "  Connexion  of 
the  Physical  Sciences,"  the  subjects  are  too  difficult ; 
but  soon  after  the  publication  of  the  "Physical 
Geography  "  a  number  of  cheap  books  appeared,  just 
keeping  within  the  letter  of  the  law,  on  which  ac- 
count it  has  only  gone  through  five  editions.  How- 
ever a  sixth  is  now  required. 

***** 
The  moment  was  unfavourable  for  going  into 
Italy,  as  war  was  raging  between  Charles  Albert  and 
the  Austrians,  so  we  resolved  to  remain  at  Munich, 
and  wait  the  course  of  events.  We  got  a  very  pretty 
little  apartment,  well  furnished  with  stoves,  and  op- 
posite the  house  of  the  Marchese  Fabio  Pallavicini, 
formerly  Sardinian  minister  at  Munich.  We  spent 
most  of  our  evenings  very  pleasantly  at  their  house: 
We  attended  the  concerts  at  the  Odeon  of  classical 
music  :  the  execution  was  perfect,  but  the  music 
was  so  refined  and  profound  that  it  passed  my  com- 
prehension, and  I  thought  it  tedious.  The  hours  at 


Salzburg.  295 

Munich  were  so  early  that  the  opera  ended  almost  at 
the  time  it  began  in  London. 

In  the  spring  we  went  to  Sal/burg,  where  we  re- 
mained all  summer.  We  had  an  apartment  in  a 
dilapidated  old  chateau,  about  an  hour's  walk  from 
the  town,  called  Leopold's  Krone.  The  picturesque 
situation  of  the  town  reminded  me  of  the  Castle  and 
Old  Town  of  Edinburgh.  The  view  from  our  windows 
was  alpine,  and  the  trees  bordering  the  roads  were 
such  as  I  have  rarely  seen  out  of  England.  We  made 
many  excursions  to  Berchtesgaden,  where  King 
Louis  and  his  court  were  then  living,  and  went  to 
the  upper  end  of  the  Konigsee.  I  have  repeatedly 
been  at  sea  in  very  stormy  weather  without  the 
smallest  idea  of  fear ;  but  the  black,  deep  water  of 
this  lake,  under  the  shadow  of  the  precipitous 
mountains,  made  a  disagreeable  impression  on  me. 
I  thought  if  I  were  to  be  drowned  I  should  prefer 
the  blue  sea  to  that  cold,  black  pool.  The  flora 
was  lovely,  and  on  returning  from  our  expeditions 
in  the  evening,  the  damp,  mossy  banks  were 
luminous  with  glowworms  :  I  never  saw  so  many, 
either  before  or  since.  We  never  fail  to  make  ac- 
quaintances wherever  we  go,  and  our  friends  at 
Munich  had  given  us  letters  to  various  people  who 
were  passing  the  summer  there,  many  of  whom 
had  evening  receptions  once  a  week.  At  the 


•296  Mary  Somerville. 

Countess  Irene  Arco's  beautiful  Gothic  chateau  of 
Anif,  which  rises  out  of  a  small  pellucid  lake,  and 
is  reached  by  a  bridge,  we  spent  many  pleasant 
evenings,  as  well  as  at  Countess  Bellegarde's,  and  at 
Aigen,  which  belonged  to  the  Cardinal  Schwartzen- 
berg.  We  never  saw  him,  but  went  to  visit  his 
niece,  with  whom  we  were  intimate. 

The  war  being  over,  we  went  by  Innsbruck 
and  the  Brenner  to  Cola,  on  the  Lago  di  Garda, 
within  five  miles  of  Peschiera,  where  we  spent  a 
month  with  Count  and  Countess  Erizzo  Minis- 
calchi,  who  had  been  our  intimate  friends  for 
many  years.  The  devastation  of  the  country 
was  frightful.  Peschiera  and  its  fortifications 
were  in  ruins;  the  villages  around  had  been 
burnt  down,  and  the  wretched  inhabitants  were 
beginning  to  repair  their  roofless  houses.  Our 
friends  themselves  had  but  recently  returned  to 
Cola,  which,  from  its  commanding  situation,  was 
always  the  head-quarters  of  whatever  army  was 
in  possession  of  the  country  around.  On  this 
account,  the  family  had  to  fly  more  than  once  at 
the  approach  of  the  enemy.  In  1848  the  Countess 
had  fled  to  Milan,  and  was  confined  at  the  very 
time  the  Austrian s  under  Radetsky  were  besieging 
the  town,  which  was  defended  by  Charles  Albert. 
Fearing  what  might  occur  when  the  city  was  sur- 


Countess  Bon-Brenzoni.  297 

rendered,  the  lady,  together  with  her  new-born 
infant  and  the  rest  of  her  family,  escaped  the  next 
day  with  considerable  difficulty,  and  travelled  to 
Genoa. 

Although  not  acquainted  with  quite  so  many  lan- 
guages as  Mezzofanti,  Count  Miniscalchi  is  a  remark- 
able linguist,  especially  with  regard  to  Arabic  and 
other  oriental  tongues.  He  has  availed  himself  of  his 
talent,  and  published  several  works,  the  most  interest- 
ing of  which  is  a  translation  of  the  Gospel  of  St. 
John  from  Syro-Chaldaic  (the  language,  probably 
spoken  by  our  Saviour)  into  Latin.  The  manuscript, 
from  which  this  translation  is  made,  is  preserved  in 
the  Vatican. 


[While  we  were  at  Col&  my  mother  received  a  visit 
from  a  very  distinguished  and  gifted  lady,  the  Countess 
Bon-Brenzoni.  As  an  instance  of  the  feelings  enter- 
tained by  an  Italian  woman  towards  my  mother,  I  insert 
a  letter  written  by  the  Countess  some  time  afterwards, 
and  also  an  extract  from  her  poems  : — 

FROM   THE  COUNTESS   BON-BRENZONI  TO  MBS. 
SOMERVILLE. 

VERONA,  28  Maggio,  1853. 

ILLUSTRE  SIGNOBA, 

Fui  molto  contenta  udendo  che  finalmente  le  sia 
giunto  1'  involto  contenente  le  copie  stampate  del  Carme, 


298  Mary  Somerville. 

ch'  ebbi  1'  onore  di  poterle  offerire,  raentre  io  era  in  gran 
pensiero  non  forse  fossero  insorte  difficolta,  o  ritardi, 
in  causa  della  posta.  Ma,  ben  piu  che  per  questo  la 
sua  graziosissima  lettera  mi  fu  di  vera  consolazione,  per 
1'  accoglienza  tutta  benevola  e  generosa  ch'  Ella  fece 
a'  miei  versi.  La  ringrazio  delle  parole  piene  di  bonta 
ch'  Ella  mi  scrive,  e  di  aversi  preso  la  gentil  cura  di 
farlo  in  italiano ;  cosi  potess'  io  ricambiarla  scrivendo  a 
Lei  in  inglese !  Pur  mi  conforta  la  certezza  che  il 
linguaggio  delle  anime  sia  uno  solo  ;  mentre  io  non  so 
s'  io  debba  chiamar  presunzione,  o  ispirazione  questa,  che 
mi  fa  credere,  che  esista  fra  la  sua  e  la  mia  una 
qualche  intelligenza,  e  quant unque  i  suoi  meriti  e  la 
sua  bonta  me  ne  spieghino  in  gran  parte  il  mistero, 
pure  trovo  essere  cosa  non  comune  questo  pensiero, 
che  al  mio  cuore  parla  di  Lei  incessantemente,  da 
quel  giorno  ch'  io  1'  ho  veduta  per  la  priina  e  1'  unica 
volta ! 

Ah  se  e  vero  che  fra  i  sentimenti  di  compiacenza 
ch'  Ella  provo  per  gli  elogi  ottenuti  de'  suoi  lavori,  abbia 
saputo  trovar  luogo  fra  i  piu  cari  quello  che  le  desto 
nelT  animo  1'  espressione  viva  e  sincera  della  mia  ammi- 
razioue  e  del  mio  umile  affetto,  io  raggiunsi  un  punto 
a  cui  certo  non  avea  osato  aspirare  ! 

II  trovarmi  con  Lei  a  Cola,  od  altrove  che  fosse, 
e  uno  de'  miei  piu  cari  desideri,  e  son  lieta  delle  sue 
parole  che  me  ne  danno  qualche  speranza. 

Voglia  presentare  i  miei  distinti  doveri  all'  eccelente 
suo  Sigre  marito  ed  alle  aniabili  figlie ;  e  mentre 
io  le  prego  da  Dio  le  piu  desiderabili  benedizioni, 
Ella  si  ricordi  di  me  siccome  di  una  persona, 
che  sebbene  lontana  fisicamente,  le  e  sempre  vicina 


"/  Cieli"  299 

coll'  animo,  nei  sentimenti   della  piu  affetuosa  venera- 
zione. 

Incoraggiata  dalla  sua  bonta,  mi  onoro  segnarmi 
arnica  affezionatissima 

CATERINA  BON-BKENZONI. 


The  "Carme"  spoken  of  in  the  above  letter  form  a 
long  poem  on  modern  astronomy,  entitled  "  I  Cieli," 
(published  by  Vallardi.  Milan :  1853).  The  opening 
lines  contain  the  following  address  to  Mrs.  Somerville* — 
doubtless  a  genuine  description  of  the  author's  feelings 
on  first  meeting  the  simple -mannered  lady  whose  intel- 
lectual greatness  she  had  long  learned  to  appreciate  : — 

Donna,  quel  giorno  ch'  io  ti  vidi  in  prima, 
Dim  mi,  hai  Tu  sc6rto  sul  mio  volto  i  segni 
Dell'  anima  commossa  ? — Hai  Tu  veduto 
Come  trepida  innanzi  io  ti  venia, 
E  come  reverenza  e  maraviglia 
Tenean  sospesa  sull'  indocil  labbro 
La  parola  mal  certa  ?— Ah  !  dimmi,  hai  scorto 
Come  fur  vinte  dall'  affetto  allora 
Che  t'udii  favellar  soave  e  piana, 
Coll'  angelica  voce  e  1'  umiltade, 
Che  a'  suoi  piti  cari  sapi'enza  insegna  ? — 
Questa,  io  dicea  tra  me,  questa  e  Colei, 
Di  che  le  mille  volte  udito  ho  il  nome 
Venerate  suonar  tra  i  piu  famosi  ? 
Questa  e  Colei  che  negli  eterei  spazj 
Segue  il  cammin  degli  astri,  e  ne  misura 
Peso,  moto,  distanza,  orbita  e  luce  ? 
*  *  *  * 


Another  record  of  our  visit  to  Cola  is  in  a  letter  of  my 
mother  to  my  brother. 


300  Mary  Somerville. 

MRS.  SOMERVILLE  TO  W.  GREIG,  ESQ. 

TUEIN,  ±th  Dec.,  1849. 
MY   DEAREST   WORONZOW, 

We  arrived  here  all  well  the  day  before  yester- 
day, after  a  fair  but  bitterly  cold  journey,  bright  sun- 
shine and  keen  frost,  and  to-day  we  have  a  fall  of  snow. 

It  was  a  great  disappointment  not  finding  letters 

here,  and  I  fear  many  have  been  lost  on  both  sides, 
though  we  took  care  not  to  touch  on  political  events,  as 
all  letters  are  opened  by  the  Austrian  police  in  Lom- 
bardy.  We  spent  five  weeks  with  our  friends  the  Minis- 
calchis  very  agreeably,  and  received  every  mark  of 
kindness  and  hospitality.  They  only  live  at  Verona 
during  the  winter,  and  we  found  them  in  their  country 
house  at  Cola  situated  on  a  height  overlooking  the 
Lago  di  Garda,  with  the  snowy  Alps  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  lake.  The  view  from  their  grounds  is  so  fine 
that  I  was  tempted  to  paint  once  more.  They  took  us 
to  see  all  the  places  in  the  neighbourhood;  often  a  sad 
sight,  from  having  been  the  seat  of  war  and  siege.  The 
villages  are  burnt  and  the  churches  in  ruin.  But  the 
people  are  repairing  the  mischief  as  fast  as  possible,  and 
the  fields  are  already  well  cultivated.  The  Count  is  a  man 
of  great  learning  and  is  occupied  in  the  comparison  of 
languages,  especially  the  Eastern ;  he  knows  twenty-four 
and  speaks  Arabic  as  fluently  as  Italian.  He  is  in  the 
habit  of  speaking  both  Arabic  and  Chaldee  every  day, 
as  there  is  a  most  learned  Chaldean  priest  living  with 
them,  whose  conversation  gave  me  great  pleasure  and 
much  information.  The  Count  has  moreover  a  black 
servant  who  speaks  these  languages,  having  been  bought 


Baron  Plana.  301 

by  the  Count  during  his  long  residence  in  the  East,  and 
is  now  treated  like  one  of  the  family.  I  obtained  much 
information  which  will  he  useful  in  my  next  edition  of 

the  Physical  Geography 

Your  affectionate  mother, 

MAEY  SOMERVILLE. 

[After  my  mother's  death,  our  old  friend  Count  Minis- 
calchi  made  a  beautiful  and  touching  "  eloge "  on  her 
at  a  meeting  of  the  Royal  Italian  Geographical  Society, 
to  a  numerous  audience  assembled  in  the  great  hall  of 
the  Collegio  Romano  at  Rome. 

My  mother  was  an  honorary  member  of  this  Society, 
besides  which  the  first  gold  medal  granted  by  them  was 
voted  by  acclamation  to  her.  Her  Recollections  con- 
tinue as  follows : — 


From  Cola  we  went  to  Turin,  where  I  became 
personally  acquainted  with  Baron  Plana,  Director 
of  the  Observatory.  He  had  married  a  niece  of  the 
illustrious  mathematician  La  Grange,  who  proved 
the  stability  of  the  solar  system.  Plana,  himself, 
was  a  very  great  analyst ;  his  volume  on  the  Lunar 
Perturbations  is  a  work  of  enormous  labour.  He 
gave  me  a  copy  of  it  and  of  all  his  works ;  for  I 
continued  to  have  friendly  intercourse  with  him  as 
long  as  he  lived.  As  soon  as  he  heard  of  our  arrival, 
he  came  to  take  us  out  to  drive.  I  never  shall 
forget  the  beauty  of  the  Alps,  and  the  broad  valley 


302  Mary  Somerville. 

of  the  Po  and  Dora,  deeply  covered  with  snow,  and 
sparkling  in  bright  sunshine.  Another  day  the 
Baron  took  us  to  a  church,  from  the  cupola  of  which 
a  very  long  pendulum  was  swinging,  that  we  might 
see  the  rotation  of  the  earth  visibly  proved  by  its 
action  on  the  pendulum,  according  to  M.  Foucault's 
experiment.  He  devoted  his  time  to  get  us  esta- 
blished, and  we  found  a  handsome  apartment  in 
Casa  Cavour,  and  became  acquainted  with  both 
the  brothers  to  whom  it  belonged.  Count  Camillo 

O 

Cavour,  then  Minister  of  the  Interior,  was  the 
only  great  statesman  Italy  ever  produced  in  modern 
timea.  His  premature  death  is  deplorably  felt 
at  the  present  day.  He  was  a  real  genius,  and 
the  most  masterly  act  of  his  administration  was 
that  of  sending  an  army  to  act  in  concert  with  the 
French  and  English  in  the  Crimean  war.  By  it 
he  at  once  gave  Italy  the  rank  of  an  independent 
European  power,  which  was  the  first  step  towards 
Italian  unity.  He  was  delightful  and  cheerful  in 
society,  and  extremely  beloved  by  his  family  and 

friends. 

*  *  *  *  * 

In  spring  we  hired  a  villa  on  the  Colline 
above  Turin.  The  house  was  in  a  garden,  with 
a  terrace,  whence  the  ground  sank  rapidly  to 
the  plain ;  low  hills,  clothed  with  chestnut 


An  Atmospheric  Phenomenon.  303 

forests,  abounding  in  lilies  of  the  valley,  sur- 
rounded us  behind.  The.  summer  had  been  stormy, 
and  one  evening -we  walked  on  the  terrace  to  look 
at  the  lightning,  which  was  very  fine,  illuminating 
the  chain  of  Alps.  By-and-by  it  ceased,  and  the 
darkness  was  intense  ;  but  we  continued  to  walk, 
when,  to  our  surprise,  a  pale  bluish  light  rose  in  the 
Val  di  Susa,  which  gradually  spread  along  the 
summit  of  the  Alps,  and  the  tops  of  the  hills  behind 
our  house ;  then  a  column  of  the  same  pale  blue 
light,  actually  within  our  reach,  came  curling  up 
from  the  slope  close  to  the  terrace,  exactly  as  if  wet 
weeds  had  been  burning.  In  about  ten  minutes  the 
whole  vanished ;  but  in  less  than  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  the  phenomena  were  repeated  exactly  as  de- 
scribed, and  were  followed  by  a  dark  night  and 
torrents  of  rain.  It  was  a  very  unusual  instance  of 
what  is  known  as  electric  glow ;  that  is,  electricity 
without  tension. 

On  our  road  to  Genoa,  we  went  to  see  some  kind 
Piedmontese  friends,  who  have  a  chateau  in  the 
Monferrat,  not  many  miles  from  Asti,  where  we  left 
the  railroad.  We  had  not  gone  many  miles  when 
the  carriage  we  had  hired  was  upset,  and,  although 
nobody  had  broken  bones,  I  got  so  severe  a  blow  on 
my  forehead  that  I  was  confined  to  bed  for  nearly  a 
month,  and  my  face  was  black  and  blue  for  a  much 


304  Mary  Somerville. 

longer  time.     Nothing  could  equal  the  unwearied 
kindness  of  our  friends  during  my  illness. 

When  I  was  able  to  travel,  we  went  to  Genoa  for 
the  winter,  and  lived  on  the  second  floor  of  a  large 
house  on  the  Acqua  Sola,  and  overlooking  the  sea. 
Here  first  began  our  friendship  with  the  Marchesa 
Teresa  Doria,  whose  maiden  name  was  Durazzo  ;  in 
her  youth  one  of  the  handsomest  women  in  Genoa, 
a  lady  distinguished  for  her  generous  character  and 
cultivated  mind,  and  who  fearlessly  avowed  her 
opinions  at  a  time  when  it  was  a  kind  of  disgrace  to 
be  called  a  Liberal.  Her  youngest  son,  Giacomo, 
has  devoted  his  life  to  the  study  of  natural  history, 
and  his  mother  used  all  her  influence  to  encourage 
and  help  him  in  a  pursuit  so  unusual  amongst 
people  of  rank  in  this  country.  Later,  he  travelled 
in  Persia  for  twp  years,  to  make  collections,  and 
since  then  resided  for  a  long  time  in  Borneo,  and  is 
now  arranging  a  museum  in  his  native  city.  The 
Marchesa  has  always  been  a  warm  and  devoted 
friend  to  me  and  mine. 

It  was  here  that  we  got  our  dear  old  parrot  Lory, 
who  is  still  alive  and  merry. 

*  *  *  *  * 

Our  next  move  was  to  Florence,  where  we  already 
knew  many  people.  We  had  a  lease  of  a  house  in 
Via  del  Mandorlo,  which  had  a  small  garden  and  a 


Gibson.  305 

balcony,  where  we  often  sat  and  received  in  the 
warm  summer  evenings.  My  daughters  had  adorned 
it  and  the  garden-with  rare  creepers,  shrubs,  and 
flowers. 

We  had  a  visit  from  our  friend  Gibson,  as  he 
passed  through  Florence  on  his  way  to  Switzerland. 
He  told  us  the  history  of  his  early  life,  as  given  in 
his  biography,  and  much  that  is  not  mentioned  there. 
He  was  devotedly  attached  to  the  Queen,  and  spoke  of 
her  in  his  simple  manner  as  a  charming  lady. 

Miss  Hosmer  was  travelling  with  Gibson,  an 
American  young  lady,  who  was  his  pupil,  and 
of  whose  works  he  was  very  proud.  He  looked 
upon  her  as  if  she  had  been  his  daughter,  and 
she  took  care  of  him ;  for  he  was  careless  and 
forgetful  when  travelling.  I  have  the  sincerest 
pleasure  in  expressing  my  admiration  for  Miss 
Hosmer,  who  has  proved  by  her  works  that  our 
sex  possesses  both  genius  and  originality  in  the 
highest  branches  of  art. 

It  was  at  Florence  that  I  first  met  my  dear  friend 
and  constant  correspondent,  Frances  Power  Cobbe. 
She  is  the  cleverest  and  most  agreeable  woman  I 
ever  met  with,  and  one  of  the  best.  There  is  a  dis- 
tant connection  between  us,  as  one  of  her  ancestors 
married  a  niece  of  Lord  Fairfax,  the  Parliamentary 
general,  many  of  whose  letters  are  in  the  posses- 


306  Mary  Somerville. 

sion  of  her  family.  A  German  professor  of  physio- 
logy at  Florence  roused  public  indignation  by  his 
barbarous  vivisections,  and  there  was  a  canvass 
for  a  Memorial  against  this  cruel  practice.  Miss 
Cobbe  took  a  leading  part  in  this  movement,  and  I 
heartily  joined,  and  wrote  to  all  my  acquaintances, 
requesting  their  votes  ;  among  others,  to  a  certain 
Marchese,  who  had  published  something  on  agricul- 
ture. He  refused  his  vote,  saying,  "  Perhaps  I  was 
not  aware  that  the  present  state  of  science  was  one 
of  induction."  Then  he  went  on  explaining  to  me  what 
"induction"  meant,  &c.,  &c.,  which  amused  me  not  a 
little.  It  made  my  family  very  indignant,  as  they 
thought  it  eminently  presumptuous,  addressed  to  me 
by  a  man  who,  though  a  good  patriot  and  agricul- 
turist, knew  nothing  whatever  about  science,  past  or 
present.  A  good  deal  of  political  party  spirit  was 
brought  into  play  in  this  instance,  as  is  too  often  the 
case  here.  It  is  not  complimentary  to  the  state  of 
civilization  in  Italy,  that  in  Russia  and  Poland,  both 
of  them  very  far  behind  her  in  many  respects,  there 
should  exist  societies  for  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to 
animals,  to  which  all  the  most  distinguished  people 
have  given  their  names. 

[I  rejoice  to  say  that  this  stain  on  Italian  civilisation 
is  now  wiped  away.  My  mother  just  lived  to  hail  the 
formation  of  the  Societa  Protettrice  degli  Animali. — ED. 


La  Verma.  307 

• 

In  summer  we  sometimes  made  excursions  to  avoid 
the  heat  of  Florence.  One  year  we  went  to  Valom- 
brosa  and  the  conve'nts  of  La  Vernia,  and  Camaldoli, 
which  are  now  suppressed.  We  travelled  on  mules 
or  ponies,  as  the  mountain  paths  are  impracticable 
to  carriages.  I  was  disappointed  in  Valombrosa  itself, 
but  the  road  to  it  is  beautiful. .  La  Vernia  is  highly 
picturesque,  there  we  remained  two  days,  which  I  spent 
in  drawing.  The  trees  round  the  convent  formed  a 
striking  contrast  to  the  arid  cliffs  we  had  passed  on 
the  road.  The  monks  were  naturally  delighted  to 
see  strangers.  They  belonged  to  the  order  of  St. 
Francis,  and  each  in  his  turn  wandered  over  the 
country  begging  and  living  on  the  industry  of  others. 
We  did  not  pay  for  our  food  and  lodging,  but  left 
much  more  than  an  equivalent  in  the  poor-box. 
Somerville  slept  in  the  convent,  and  we  ladies  were 
lodged  in  the  so-called  Foresteria  outside  ;  but  even 
Somerville  was  not  admitted  into  the  clausura  at 
Camaldoli,  for  the  monks  make  a  vow  of  perpetual 
silence  and  solitude.  Each  had  his  little  separate 
hut  and  garden,  and  some  distance  above  the  con- 
vent, on  the  slopes  of  the  Apennines,  they  had  an 
establishment  called  the  Eremo,  for  those  who  sought 
for  even  greater  solitude.  The  people  told  us  that 
in  winter,  when  deep  snow  covers  the  whole  place, 
wolves  are  often  seen  prowling  about.  Not  far  from 


308  Mary  Somerville. 

the  Eremo  there  is  a  place  from  whence  both  the 
Mediterranean  and  the  Adriatic  can  be  seen. 

We  occasionally  went  for  sea-bathing  to  Viareggio, 
which  is  built  on  a  flat  sandy  beach.  The  loose 
sand  is  drifted  by  the  wind  into  low  hillocks,  and 
bound  together  by  coarse  grass  thickly  coated  with 
silex.  Among  this  and  other  plants  a  lovely  white 
amaryllis,  the  Pancratium  Maratimumyvfith  a  sweet 
and  powerful  perfume,  springs  up.  We  often  tried 
to  get  the  bulb,  but  it  lay  too  deep  under  the  sand. 
One  evening  we  had  gone  a  long  way  in  search  of 
these  flowers,  and  sat  down  to  rest,  though  it  was 
beginning  to  be  dark.  We  had  not  sat  many 
minutes  when  we  were  surrounded  by  a  number  of 
what  we  supposed  to  be  bats  trying  to  get  at  the 
flowers  we  had  gathered,  but  at  length  we  discovered 
that  they  were  enormous  moths,  which  followed  us 
home,  and  actually  flew  into  the  room  to  soar  over 
the  flowers  and  suck  the  honey  with  their  long 
probosces.  They  were  beautiful  creatures  with  large 

red  eyes  on  their  wings. 

*  *  #  *  # 

Our  life  at  Florence  went  on  pretty  much  as  usual 
when  all  at  once  cholera  broke  out  of  the  most  viru- 
lent kind.  Multitudes  fled  from  Florence ;  often  in 
vain,  for  it  prevailed  all  through  Tuscany  to  a  great 
extent.  The  terrified  people  were  kneeling  to  the 


The  Cholera.  309 

Madonna  and  making  processions,  after  which  it 
was  remarked  that  the  number  of  cases  was  in- 
variably increased.  The  Misericordia  went  about 
in  their  fearful  costume,  indefatigable  in  carrying 
the  sick  to  the  hospitals.  The  devotion  of  that 
society  was  beyond  all  praise ;  the  young  and  the 
old,  the  artisan  and  the  nobleman,  went  night  and 
day  in  detachments  carrying  aid  to  the  sufferers,  not 
in  Florence  only,  but  to  Fiesole  and  the  villages 
round.  We  never  were  afraid,  but  we  consulted 
Professor  Zanetti,  our  medical  adviser,  whether  we 
should  leave  the  town,  which  we  were  unwilling  to 
do,  as  we  thought  we  should  be  far  from  medical 
assistance,  and  he  said,  "  By  no  means ;  live  as 
usual,  drive  out  as  you  have  always  done,  and  make 
not  the  smallest  change."  We  followed  his  advice, 
and  drove  out  every  afternoon  till  near  dark,  ana 
then  passed  the  rest  of  the  evening  with  fhose  friends 
who,  like  ourselves,  had  remained  in  town.  None  of 
us  took  the  disease  except  one  of  our  servants,  who 
recovered  from  instant  help  being  given. 

The  Marquis  of  Normanby  was  British  minister 
at  that  time,  and  Lady  Normanby  and  he  were 
always  kind  and  hospitable  to  us.  At  her  house  we 
became  acquainted  with  Signora  Barbieri-Nini,  the 
celebrated  opera-singer,  who  had  retired  from  the 
stage,  and  lived  with  her  husband,  a  Sienese  gentle- 


310  Mary  SomervilU 

man,  in  a  villa  not  far  from  Villa  Normanby.  She 
gave  a  musical  party,  to  which  she  invited  us.  The 
music,  which  was  entirely  artistic,  was  excellent, 
the  entertainment  very  handsome,  and  it  was  alto- 
gether very  enjoyable.  As  we  were  driving  home 
afterwards,  late  at  night,  going  down  the  hill,  our 
carriage  ran  against  one  of  the  dead  carts  which  was 
carrying  those  who  had  died  that  day  to  the  burying- 
ground  at  Trespiano.  It  was  horribly  ghastly — one 
could  distinguish  the  forms  of  the  limbs  under  the 
canvas  thrown  over  the  heap  of  dead.  The  burial 
of  the  poor  and  rich  in  Italy  is  in  singular  contrast ; 
the  poor  are  thrown  into  the  grave  without  a  coffin, 
the  rich  are  placed  in  coffins,  and  in  full  dress, 
which,  especially  in  the  case  of  youth  and  infancy, 
leaves  a  pleasant  impression.  An  intimate  friend  of 
ours  lost  an  infant,  and  asked  me  to  go  and  see  it 
laid  out.  The  coffin,  lined  with  white  silk,  was  on 
a  table,  covered  with  a  white  cloth,  strewed  with 
flowers,  and  with  a  row  of  wax  lights  on  either  side. 
The  baby  was  clothed  in  a  white  satin  frock,  leaving 
the  neck  and  arms  bare  ;  a  rose-bud  was  in  each 
hand,  and  a  wreath  of  rose-buds  surrounded  the 
head,  which  rested  on  a  pillow.  Nothing  could  be 
prettier ;  it  was  like  a  sleeping  angeL 

*  *  *  *  * 

Pio  Nono  had  lost  his  popularity  before  he  came 


Donati.  811 

to  visit  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany.  The  people  re- 
ceived him  respectfully,  but  without  enthusiasm  ; 
nevertheless,  Florence  was  illuminated  in  his  honour. 
The  Duomo,  Campanile,  and  the  old  tower  in  the 
Piazza  dei  Signori  were  very  fine,  but  the  Lung' 
Arno  was  beautiful  beyond  description ;  the  river  was 
full,  and  reflected  the  whole  with  dazzling  splendour. 

I  made  the  acquaintance  of  Signore  Donati,  after- 
wards celebrated  for  the  discovery  of  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  comets  of  this  century,  whose  course 
and  changes  I  watched  with  the  greatest  interest. 
On  one  occasion  I  was  accompanied  by  my  valued 
friend  Sir  Henry  Holland,  who  had  come  to  Florence 
during  one  of  his  annual  journeys.  I  had  much 
pleasure  in  seeing  him  again. 

Political  parties  ran  very  high  in  Florence ;  we 
sympathised  with  the  Liberals,  living  on  intimate 
terms  with  the  chief  of  them.  As  soon  as  the  proba- 
bility of  war  between  Piedmont  and  Austria  became 
known,  many  young  men  of  every  rank,  some  even 
of  the  highest  families,  hastened  to  join  as  volun- 
teers. The  most  sanguine  long  hoped  that  the  Grand 
Duke  might  remember  that  he  was  an  Italian  prince 
rather  than  an  Austrian  archduke,  and  would  send 
his  troops  to  join  the  Italian  cause ;  but  his  dynasty 
was  doomed,  and  he  blindly  chose  the  losing  side. 
At  last  the  Austrians  crossed  the  Mincio,  and  the 


312  Mary  Somerville. 

war  fairly  broke  out,  France  coming  to  the  assistance 
of  Piedmont.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  Tuscans  could 
then  no  longer  be  restrained,  and  on  the  27th  April 
1859,  crowds  of  people  assembled  on  the  Piazza 
dell'  Indipendenza,,  and  raised  the  tri-coloured  flag. 
The  government,  who,  the  day  before,  had  warning  of 
what  was  impending,  had  sent  sealed  orders  to  the 
forts  of  Belvedere  and  del  Basso,  which,  when 
opened  on  the  eventful  morning,  were  found  to  con- 
tain orders  for  the  bombardment  of  the  town.  This 
the  officers  refused  to  do,  after  which  the  troops 
joined  the  popular  cause.  When  this  order  became 
generally  known,  as  it  soon  did,  it  proved  the  last 
blow  to  the  dynasty,  although  the  most  eminent  and 
respected  Liberals  used  their  best  efforts  during  the 
whole  of  the  2  7th  to  restore  harmony  between  the 
Grand  Duke  and  the  people.  They  advised  his  im- 
mediate abdication  in  favour  of  his  son,  the  Archduke 
Ferdinand,  the  proclamation  of  the  Constitution,  and 
of  course  insisted  on  the  immediate  alliance  with 
Piedmont  as  their  principal  condition.  It  was  already 
too  late !  All  was  of  no  avail,  and  in  the  evening, 
whilst  we  were  as  usual  at  the  Cascine,  the  whole 
Imperial  family,  accompanied  by  the  Austrian 
minister,  and  escorted  by  several  of  the  Corps  Diplo- 
matique, drove  round  the  walls  from  Palazzo  Pitti  to 
Porta  San  Gallo  unmolested  amid  a  silent  crowd,  and 


Revolution.  313 

crossing  the  frontier  on  the  Bologna  road,  bade  fare- 
well for  ever  to  Tuscany.  The  obnoxious  ministers 
were  also  permitted  to  retire  unnoticed  to  their 
country  houses. 

Thus  ended  this  bloodless  revolution ;  there 
was  no  disorder  of  any  kind,  which  was  due  to  the 
young  men  belonging  to  the  principal  families  of 
Florence,  such  as  Corsiui,  Incontri,  Farinola,  and 
others,  using  their  influence  with  the  people  to  calm 
and  direct  them.  Indeed,  so  quiet  was  everything 
that  my  daughters  walked  about  the  streets,  as  did 
most  ladies,  to  see  what  was  going  on ;  the  only 
visible  signs  of  the  revolution  throughout  the  whole 
day  were  bands  of  young  men  with  tri-coloured 
flags  and  cockades  shouting  national  songs  at  the  top 
of  their  voices.  As  I  have  said  already,  we  took 
our  usual  drive  to  the  Cascine  after  dinner,  and  went 
to  the  theatre  in  the  evening  ;  the  streets  were  per- 
fectly quiet,  and  next  morning  the  people  were  at 
work  as  usual.  Sir  James  Scarlett  was  our  minister, 
and  had  a  reception  the  evening  after  these  events, 
where  we  heard  many  predictions  of  evil  which 
never  were  fulfilled.  The  least  of  these  was  the 
occupation  of  Florence  by  a  victorious  Austrian  army. 
The  Tuscan  archdukes  precluded  all  chance  of  a 
restoration  by  joining  the  Austrian  army,  and  being 
present  at  the  battle  of  Solferino.  At  Florence  a 


314  Mary  Somerville. 

provisional  government  was  formed  with  Bettino 
Eicasoli  at  its  head ;  a  parliament  assembled  three 
times  in  the  Sala  dei  Ciucjuecento,  in  the  Palazzo 
Vecchio,  and  voted  with  unanimity  the  expulsion  of 
the  House  of  Lorraine,  and  the  annexation  of 
Tuscany  to  the  kingdom  of  Italy.  In  the  meantime 
the  French  and  Italian  arms  were  victorious  in 
Lombardy.  As,  however,  it  is  not  my  intention  to 
give  an  historical  account  of  the  revolution  of  1859, 
but  merely  to  jot  down  such  circumstances  as  came 
under  my  own  immediate  notice,  I  shall  not  enter 
into  any  particulars  regarding  the  well-known 
campaign  which  ended  in  the  cession  of  Milan  and 
Lombardy  to  Italy. 

We  were  keenly  interested  in  the  alliance  between 
the  Emperor  Napoleon  and  the  King  of  Italy,  in 
hopes  the  Quadrilateral  would  be  taken,  and  Venice 
added  to  the  Italian  States.  We  had  a  map  of 
Northern  Italy  spread  on  a  table,  and  from  day  to* 
day  we  marked  the  positions  of  the  different  head- 
quarters with  coloured-headed  pins.  I  can  hardly 
describe  our  indignation  when  all  at  once  peace  was 
signed  at  Villafranca,  and  Napoleon  received  Nice 
and  Savoy  in  recompense  for  his  aid,  which  were 
given  up  to  him  without  regard  to  the  will  of  the 
people.  When  the  peace  was  announced  in  Tuscany 
it  caused  great  consternation  and  disgust ;  the  people 


Ricasoli.  315 

were  in  the  greatest  excitement,  fearing  that  those 
rulers  so  obnoxious  to  them  might  by  this  treaty  be 
again  forced  upon  them ;  and  it  required  the  firm 
hand  of  Ricasoli  to  calm  the  people,  and  induce  the 
King  to  accept  the  annexation  which  had  been  voted 
without  one  dissentient  voice. 

Baron  Ricasoli  had  naturally  many  enemies 
amongst  the  Codini,  or  retrograde  party.  Hand- 
grenades  were  thrown  against  the  door  of  his  house, 
as  also  at  those  of  other  ministers,  but  without  doing 
harm.  One  evening  my  daughters  were  dressing  to 
go  to  a  ball  that  was  to  take  place  at  the  Palazzo 
delle  Crocelle,  close  to  us,  in  a  street  parallel  to 
ours,  when  we  were  startled  by  a  loud  explosion. 
An  attempt  had  been  made  to  throw  a  shell  into  the 
ball-room,  which  had  happily  failed.  The  streets 
were  immediately  lined  with  soldiers,  and  the  ball, 
which  was  given  by  the  Ministers,  as  far  as  I  recol- 
lect, took  place. 

When  the  war  broke  out,  a  large  body  of  French 
troops,  commanded  by  Prince  Jerome  Napoleon, 
came  to  Florence,  and  were  bivouacked  in  the 
Cascine.  The  people  in  the  streets  welcomed  them 
as  deliverers  from  the  Austrians,  whose  occupation 
of  Tuscany,  when  first  we  came  to  reside  in  Florence, 
was  such  a  bitter  mortification  to  them,  and  one  of 
the  causes  of  the  unpopularity  of  the  Grand  Duke, 


316  Mary  Somerville. 

whom  they  never  forgave  for  calling  in  the  Austrian 
troops  after  1848.  The  French  camp  was  a  very 
pretty  sight ;  some  of  the  soldiers  playing  at  games, 
some  mending  their  clothes,  or  else  cooking.  They 
were  not  very  particular  as  to  what  they  ate,  for  one 
of  my  daughters  saw  a  soldier  skin  a  rat  and  put  it 
into  his  soup-kettle. 

We  were  invited  by  the  Marchesa  Lajatico,  with 
whom  we  were  very  intimate,  to  go  and  see  the 
entry  of  Victor  Emmanuel  into  Florence  from  the 
balcony  of  the  Casa  Corsini  in  the  Piazza  del  Prato, 
where  she  resides.  The  King  was  received  with 
acclamation  :  never  was  anything  like  the  enthu- 
siasm. Flowers  were  showered  down  from  every 
window,  and  the  streets  were  decorated  with  a  taste 
peculiar  to  the  Italians. 

-  [I  think  the  following  extracts  from  letters  written  by 
my  mother  during  the  year  1859  and  the  following,  ever 
memorable  in  Italian  history,  may  not  be  unwelcome  to 
the  reader.  My  mother  took  the  keenest  interest  in  all 
that  occurred.  Owing  to  the  liberal  opinions  she  had 
held  from  her  youth,  and  to  which  she  was  ever  constant, 
all  her  sympathies  were  with  the  Italian  cause,  and  she 
rejoiced  at  every  step  which  tended  to  unite  all  Italy  in 
one  kingdom.  She  lived  to  see  this  great  revolution 
accomplished  by  the  entry  of  Victor  Emmanuel  into 
Home  as  King  of  Italy;  a  consummation  believed  by 
most  politicians  to  be  a  wild  dream  of  poets  and  hot- 
headed patriots,  but  now  realised  and  accepted  as  a 


Letter  to  Mr.  Greig.  317 

matter  of  course.  My  mother  had  always  firm  faith 
in  this  result,  and  it  was  with  inexpressible  pleasure 
she  watched  its  completion.  Our  intimacy  with  the  lead- 
ing politicians  both  in  Tuscany  and  Piedmont  naturally 
added  to  our  interest.  Bicasoli,  Menabrea,  Peruzzi, 
Minghetti.  &c.,  we  knew  intimately,  as  well  as  Camillo 
Cavour,  the  greatest  statesman  Italy  ever  produced.  No 
one  who  did  not  witness  it  can  imagine  the  grief  and  con- 
sternation his  death  occasioned,  and  of  which  my  mother 
writes  in  a  letter  dated  June  19th,  1861. 

FEOM  MES.   SOMEEVILLE  TO  W.  GEEIG,  ESQ. 

FLORENCE,  May  5th,  1859. 
MY  DEAREST  "W., 

Your  letter  of  the  28th  would  h'ave  made  me 
laugh  heartily  were  we  not  annoyed  that  you  should 
have  suffered  such  uneasiness  on  our  account ;  the  panic 
in  England  is  ridiculous  and  most  unfounded.  The 
whole  aifair  has  been  conducted  with  perfect  unanimity 
and  tranquillity,  so  that  there  has  been  no  one  to  fight 
with.  The  Austrians  are  concentrated  in  Lombardy, 
and  not  in  Tuscany,  nor  is  there  any  one  thing  to 
disturb  the  perfect  peace  and  quietness  which  prevail 
over  the  whole  country;  not  a  soul  thinks  of  leaving 
Florence.  You  do  the  greatest  injustice  to  the  Tuscans. 
From  first  to  last  not  a  person  has  been  insulted,  not  a 
cry  raised  against  anyone ;  even  the  obnoxious  ministers 
were  allowed  to  go  to  their  country  houses  without  a 
word  of  insult,  and  troops  were  sent  with  the  Grand 
Duke  to  escort  him  and  his  family  to  the  frontier. 
Martha  and  Mary  went  all  through  the  town  the  morning 
of  the  revolution,  which  was  exactly  like  a  common  festa, 


318  Mary  Somerville. 

and  we  found  the  tranquillity  as  great  when  we  drove 
through  the  streets  in  the  afternoon.  The  same  quiet  still 
prevails,  the  people  are  at  their  usual  employments,  the 
theatres  and  private  receptions  go  on  as  usual,  and  the 
provisional  government  is  excellent.  Everyone  knew  of 
the  revolution  long  before  it  took  place  and  the  quiet- 
ness with  which  it  was  to  be  conducted.  I  am  grieved 
at  the  tone  of  English  politics,  and  trust,  for  the  honour 
of  the  country  and  humanity,  that  we  do  not  intend  to 
make  war  upon  France  and  Sardinia.  It  would  be  a 
disgrace  and  everlasting  stigma  to  make  a  crusade 
against  the  oppressed,  being  ourselves  free.  The  people 
here  have  behaved  splendidly,  and  we  rejoice  that  we 
have  been  here  to  witness  such  noble  conduct.  No 
nation  ever  made  such  progress  as  the  Tuscans  have 
done  since  the  year  48.  Not  a  word  of  republicanism,  it 
has  never  been  named.  All  they  want  is  a  constitutional 
government,  and  this  they  are  quietly  settling 


FROM  MRS.  SOMERVILLE  TO  W.  GREIG,  ESQ. 

FLORENCE,  2Sth  May,  1859. 

Everything  is   perfectly    quiet    here; 

the  Tuscans  are  giving  money  liberally  for  carrying  on 
the  war.  "We  have  bought  quantities  of  old  linen,  and 
your  sisters  and  I  spend  the  day  in  making  lint  and 
bandages  for  the  wounded  soldiers  ;  great  quantities  have 
already  been  sent  to  Piedmont.  Hitherto  the  war  has 
been  favourable  to  the  allied  army.  God  grant  that 
England  may  not  enter  into  the  contest  till  the  Austrians 
are  driven  out  of  Italy !  After  that  point  has  been  gained, 


P re-historic  Races.  319 

our  honour  would  be  safe.  To  take  part  with  the 
oppressors  and  maintain  despotism  in  Italy  would  be  in- 
famous. Tuscany  is-to  be  occupied  by  a  large  body  of 
troops  under  the  command  of  Prince  Napoleon.  A  great 
many  are  already  encamped  on  the  meadows  at  the 
Cascine — fine,  spirited,  merry  young  men;  many  of 
them  have  the  Victoria  medal.  They  are  a  thorough 
protection  against  any  attack  by  the  Austrians,  of  which, 
however,  there  is  little  chance,  as  they  have  enough  to 
do  in  Lombardy.  There  is  to  be  a  great  affair  this 
morning  at  nine  o'clock ;  an  altar  is  raised  in  the  middle 
of  the  camp,  and  the  tricolour  (Italian)  flag  is  to  be 
blessed  amidst  salvoes  of  cannon.  Your  friend,  Bettino 
Ricasoli,  is  thought  by  far  the  most  able  and  states- 
manlike person  in  Tuscany;  he  is  highly  respected. 
Martha  and  I  dined  with  Mr.  Scarlett,  and  met  .  .  . 
who  said  if  the  Grand  Duke  had  not  been  the  most 
foolish  and  obstinately  weak  man  in  the  world,  he  might 
still  have  been  on  the  throne  of  Tuscany;  but  that 
now  he  has  made  that  impossible  by  going  to  Vienna  and 
allowing  his  two  sons  to  enter  the  Austrian  army.  .... 
We  have  had  a  visit  from  Dr.  Falkner,  his  two  nieces 
and  brother.  They  had  been  spending  the  winter  in 
Sicily,  where  he  discovered  rude  implements  formed 
by  man  mixed  with  the  bones  of  prehistoric  animals  in  a 
cave,  so  hermetically  shut  up  that  not  a  doubt  is  left  of 
a  race  of  men  having  lived  at  a  period  far  anterior  to  that 
assigned  as  the  origin  of  mankind.  Similar  discoveries 
have  recently  been  made  elsewhere.  Dr.  Falkner  had 
travelled  much  in  the  Himalayas,  and  lived  two  years  on 
the  great  plain  of  Tibet ;  the  account  he  gave  me  of  it 
was  most  interesting.  His  brother  had  spent  fifteen 
years  in  Australia,  so  the  conversation  delighted  me  ;  I 


320  Mary  Somerviile. 

learnt  so  much  that  was  new.  I  am  glad  to  hear  that 
the  Queen  has  been  so  kind  to  my  friend  Faraday ;  it 
seems  she  has  given  him  an  apartment  at  Hampton 
Court  nicely  fitted  up.  She  went  to  see  it  herself,  and 
having  consulted  scientific  men  as  to  the  instruments 
that  were  necessary  for  his  pursuits,  she  had  a  laboratory 
fitted  up  with  them,  and  made  him  a  present  of  the  whole. 
That  is  doing  things  handsomely,  and  no  once  since 
Newton  has  deserved  it  so  much. 


FROM  MRS.  SOMERVILLE  TO  W.  GREIG,  ESQ. 

FLORENCE,  5th  June,  1859. 

All  is  perfectly  quiet ;  a  large  body  of 

French  troops  are  now  in  Tuscany,  and  many  more  are 
expected  probably  to  make  a  diversion  on  this  side  of  the 
Austrian  army  through  Modena  ;  but  nothing  is  known ; 
the  most  profound  secrecy  is  maintained  as  to  all  military 
.movements.  Success  has  hitherto  attended  the  allied 
army,  and  the  greatest  bravery  has  been  shown.  The 
enthusiasm  among  the  men  engaged  is  excessive,  the 
King  of  Sardinia  himself  the  bravest  of  the  brave,  but 
exposes  himself  so  much  that  the  people  are  making 
petitions  to  him  to  be  more  careful.  The  Zouaves  called 
out  in  the  midst  of  the  battle,  "  Le  roi  est  un  Zouave  !  " 
Prince  Napoleon  keeps  very  quiet,  and  avoids  shewing 
himself  as  much  as  possible.  The  French  troops  are 
very  fine  indeed—  young,  gay,  extremely  civil  and  well 
bred.  The  secrecy  is  quite  curious ;  even  the  colonels 
of  the  regiments  do  not  know  where  they  may  be  sent 
till  the  order  comes  :  so  all  is  conjecture The 


Public  Affairs.  321 

young  King  of  Naples  seems  to  follow  the  footsteps  of 
his  father ;  I  hope  in  God  that  we  may  not  protect  and 
defend  him.  How  anxious  we  are  to  know  what  the 
House  of  Commons  will  do !  Let  us  hope  they  will  take 
the  liberal  side  ;  but  the  conservative  party  seems  to  be 
increasing. 


FROM  MRS.  SOMERVILLE  TO  W.  GREIG,  ESQ. 

FLOEENCE,  22nd  August,  1859. 

Public   affairs    go    on    admirably.     A 

few  weeks  ago  the  elections  took  place  of  the  members 
of  the  Tuscan  parliament  with  a  calm  and  tranquillity  of 
which  you  have  110  idea.  Every  proprietor  who  pays 
15  pauls  of  taxes  (75  pence)  has  a  vote.  There  are  180 
members,  consisting  of  the  most  ancient  nobility,  the 
richest  proprietors,  the  most  distinguished  physicians 
and  lawyers,  and  the  most  respectable  merchants.  They 
hold  their  meetings  in  the  magnificent  hall  of  the 
Palazzo  Vecchio — the  Sala  Dei  Cinquecento.  The  first 
two  or  three  days  were  emplo}red  in  choosing  a  president, 
&c.,  &c. ;  then  a  day  was  named  to  determine  the  fate  of 
the  house  of  Lorraine.  I  could  not  go,  but  Martha  went 
with  a  Tuscan  friend.  There  was  no  speaking  ;  the  vote 
was  by  ballot,  and  each  member  separately  went  up  to  a 
table  before  the  president,  and  silently  put  his  ball  into 
a  large  vase.  Two  members  poured  the  balls  into  a  tray, 
and  on  examination,  said,  "  No  division  is  necessary ; 
they  are  all  black," — which  was  followed  by  long  and 
loud  cheering.  They  have  been  equally  unanimous  in  the 
Legations  in  Parma  and  Modena ;  and  the  wish  of  the 
people  is  to  form  one  kingdom  of  these  four  states  under 


322  Mary  Somerville. 

an  Italian  prince,  excluding  all  Austrians  for  ever.  The 
union  is  perfect,  and  the  determination  quiet  but  deep 
and  unalterable.  If  the  Archduke  is  forced  upon  them, 
it  must  be  by  armed  forc%  which  the  French  emperor 
will  not  likely  permit,  after  the  Archduke  was  fool 
enough  to  fight  Against  him  at  Solferino.  All  the  four 
states  have  unanimously  voted  union  with  Piedmont ; 
but  they  do  not  expect  it  to  be  granted.  The  destinies  of 
Europe  are  now  dependent  on  the  two  emperors 


FROM  MRS.  SOMERVILLE  TO  W.  GREIG,  ESQ. 

FLORENCE,  23rd  April,  1860. 

You  would  have  had  this  letter  sooner,  my  dearest 
Woronzow,  if  I  had  not  been  prevented  from  writing  to 

you  yesterday  evening The  weather  has  been 

atrocious;  deluges  of  rain  night  and  day,  and, so  cold 
that  I  have  been  obliged  to  lay  in  a  second  supply  of 
wood.  The  only  good  day,  and  the  only  one  I  have  been 
out,  was  that  on  which  the  king  arrived.  It  fortunately 
was  fine,  and  the  sight  was  magnificent ;  quite  worthy  of 
so  great  an  historical  event.  No  carriages  were  allowed 
after  the  guns  fired  announcing  that  the  king  had  left 
Leghorn  ;  so  we  should  have  been  ill  off,  had  it  not  been 
for  the  kindness  of  our  friend  the  Marchesa  Lajatico, 
who  invited  us  to  her  balcony,  which  is  now  very  large, 
as  they  have  built  an  addition  to  their  house  for  the 
eldest  son  and  his  pretty  wife.  We  were  there  some 
hours  before  the  king  arrived  ;  but  as  all  the  Florentine 
society  was  there,  and  many  of  our  friends  from  Turin 
and  Genoa,  we  found  it  very  agreeable.  The  house  is  in 


Entry  of  Victor  Emmanuel.  323 

the  Prato,  very  near  the  gate  the  king  was  to  enter.  On 
each  side  of  it  stages  were  raised  like  steps  in  an  amphi- 
theatre, which  were  densely  crowded,  every  window 
decorated  with  gaily-coloured  hangings  and  the  Italian 
flag;  the  streets  were  lined  with  "  guardie  civiche,"  and 
bands  of  music  played  from  time  to  time.  The  people 
shouted  "  Evviva !  "  every  time  a  gun  was  fired.  In  the 
midst  of  this  joy,  there  appeared  what  resembled  a 
funeral  procession — about  a  hundred  emigrants  following 
the  Venetian,  Roman,  and  Neapolitan  colours,  all  hung 
with  black  crape ;  they  were  warmly  applauded,  and 
many  people  shed  tears.  They  went  to  the  railway 
station  just  without  the  gate  to  meet  the  King,  and  when 
they  hailed  him  as  "  Re  d'  Italia  !  "  h^was  much  affected. 
At  last  he  appeared  riding  a  fine  English  horse,  Prince 
Carignan  on  one  hand  and  Baron  Ricasoli  on  his  left, 
followed  by  a  numerous  "  troupe  doree  "  of  generals  and 
of  his  suite  in  gay  uniforms  and  well  mounted.  The 
King  rides  well ;  so  the  effect  was  extremely  brilliant. 
Then  followed  several  carriages  ;  in  the  first  were  Count 
Cavour,  Buoncompagni,  and  the  Marchese  Bartolommei. 
You  cannot  form  the  slightest  idea  of  the  excitement ;  it 
was  a  burst  of  enthusiasm,  and  the  reception  of  Cavour 
was  as  warm.  We  threw  a  perfect  shower  of  flowers 
over  him,  which  the  Marchesa  had  provided  for  the 
occasion ;  and  her  youngest  son  Cino,  a  nice  lad,  went 
himself  to  present  his  bouquet  to  the  King,  who  seemed 
quite  pleased  with  the  boy.  I  felt  so  much  for  Madame 

de  Lajatico  herself. I  said  to  her  how  kind  I 

thought  it  in  her  to  open  her  house ;  she  burst  into  tears, 
and  said,  though  she  was  in  deep  affliction,  she  could  not 
be  so  selfish  as  not  offer  her  friends  the  best  position 
in  Florence  fqr  seeing  what  to  many  of  them  was  the 

y  2 


324  Mary  Somerville. 

most  important  event  in  their  lives,  as  it  was  to  her  even 
in  her  grief.  The  true  Italian  taste  appeared  to  per- 
fection in  every  street  through  which  the  procession 
passed  to  the  Duomo,  and  thence  to  the  Palazzo  Pitti. 
Those  who  saw  it  declare  nothing  could  surpass  the 
splendour  of  tffe  cathedral  when  illuminated ;  but  that 
we  could  not  see,  nor  did  we  see  the  procession  again;  it 
was  impossible  to  penetrate  the  crowd.  They  say  there 

are  40,000  strangers  in  Florence I  was  much 

too  tired  to  go  out  again  to  see  the  illuminations  and  the 
fireworks  on  the  Ponte  Carraja ;  your  sisters  saw  it  all, 
so  I  leave  them  to  tell  you  all  about  it.  The  King  and 
Prince  are  terribly  early  ;  they  and  Ricasoli  are  on  horse- 
back "byfive  in  the  morniug ;  the  King  dines  at  twelve, 
and  never  touches  food  afterwards,  though  he  has  a 

dinner  party  of  60  or  80  every  day  at  six 

Now,  my  dearest  Woronzow,  I  must  end,  for  I  do  not 
wish  to  miss  another  post.  I  am  really  wonderfully  well 
for  my  age. 

Your  devoted  mother, 

MARY  SOMERVILLE. 


FEOM  MRS.  SOMERVILLE  TO  W.  GREIG,  ESQ. 

FLORENCE,  19£A  June,  1861. 

Italy  has  been  thrown  into  the  deepest 

affliction  by  the  death  of  Cavour.  In  my  long  life  I  never 
knew  any  event  whatever  which  caused  so  universal  and 
deep  sorrow.  There  is  not  a  village  or  town  throughout 
the  whole  peninsula  which  has  not  had  a  funeral  service, 
and  the  very  poorest  people,  who  had  hardly  clothes  on 
their  backs,  had  black  crape  tied  round  their  arm  or  neck. 


Death  of  Cavour.  825 

It  was  a  state  of  consternation,  and  no  wonder!  Every  one 
felt  that  the  greatest  and  best  man  of  this  century  has 
been  taken  away  before  he  had  completely  emancipated 
his  country.  All  the  progress  is  due  to  him,  and  to  him 
alone ;  the  revolution  has  called  forth  men  of  much 
talent,  yet  the  whole  are  immeasurably  his  inferior  in 
every  respect — even  your  friend,  Ricasoli,  who  is  most 
able,  and  the  best  successor  that  can  be  found,  is,  com- 
pared with  Cavour,  as  Tuscany  to  Europe.  Happily  the  sad 
loss  did  not  occur  sooner.  Now  things  are  so  far  advanced 
that  they  cannot  go  back,  and  I  trust  that  Ricasoli,  who  is 
not  wanting  in  firmness  and  moral  courage,  will  complete 
what  has  been  so  happily  begun.  I  am  sorry  to  say  he 
is  not  in  very  good  health,  but  I  trust  he  will  not  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  physician  who  attended  Cavour, 
and  who  mistook  his  disease,  reduced  him  by  loss  of 
blood,  and  then  finding  out  his  real  illness,  tried  to 
strengthen  him  when  too  late.  There  was  a  most  ex- 
cellent article  in  the  "  Times  "  on  the  two  statesmen. 

[My  mother's  recollections  continue  thus  : — 


One  night  the  moon  shone  so  bright  that  we 
sent  the  carriage  away,  and  walked  home  from 
a  reception  at  the  Marchesa  Ginori's.  In  crossing 
the  Piazza  San  Marco,  an  acquaintance,  who  accom- 
panied us,  took  us  to  the  Maglio,  which  is  close 
by,  to  hear  an  echo.  I  like  an  echo ;  yet  there 
is  something  so  unearthly  in  the  aerial  voice, 
that  it  never  fails  to  raise  a  superstitious  chill 


326  Mary  Somerville. 

in  me,  such  as  I  have  felt  more  than  once 
as  I  read  "  Ossian "  while  travelling  among  our 
Highland  hills  in  my  early  youth.  In  one  of  the 
grand  passes  of  the  Oberland,  when  we  were  in 
Switzerland,  we  were  enveloped  in  a  mist,  through 
which  peaks  were  dimly  seen.  We  stopped  to  hear 
an  echo ;  the  response  came  clear  and  distinct  from 
a  great  distance,  and  I  felt  as  if  the  Spirit  of  the 
Mountain  had  spoken.  The  impression  depends  on 
accessory  circumstances ;  for  the  roar  of  a  railway 

train  passing  over  a  viaduct  has  no  such  effect. 
*  *  *  #  * 

I  lost  my  husband  in  Florence  on  the  26th  June, 

1860 From  the  preceding  narrative  may  be 

seen  the  sympathy,  affection,  and  confidence,  which 
always  existed  between  us 

[After  what  has  already  been  said  of  the  happiness  my 
mother  enjoyed  during  the  long  years  of  their  married 
life,  it  may  be  imagined  what  grief  was  her's  at  my 
father's  death  after  only  three  days'  illness.  My  mother's 
dear  friend  and  correspondent,  Miss  F.  P.  Cobbe,  wrote 
to  her  as  follows  on  this  occasion : — 

"  I  have  just  learned  from  a  letter  from  Captain  Fairfax 
to  rny  brother  the  great  affliction  which  has  befallen  you. 
I  cannot  express  to  you  how  it  has  grieved  me  to  think 
that  such  a  sorrow  should  have  fallen  on  you,  and  that 
the  dear,  kind  old  man,  whose  welcome  so  often  touched 
and  gratified  me,  should  have  passed  away  so  soon  after 


Second  Widowhood.  327 

I  had  seen  you  both,  as  I  often  thought,  the  most  beauti- 
ful instance  of  united  old  age.  His  love  and  pride  in  you, 
breaking  out  as  it  did  at  every  instant  when  you  happened 
to  be  absent,  gives  me  the  measure  of  what  his  loss  must 
be  to  your  warm  heart." 


The  following  letter  from  my  mother,  dated  April, 
1861,  addressed  to  her  sister-in-law,  was  written  after 
reading  my  grandfather's  "  Life  and  Times,"  the  publi- 
cation of  which  my  father  did  not  live  to  see. 


FROM  MRS.  SOMERVILLE  TO   MRS.  ELLIOT,   OF   ROSEBANK, 
ROXBURGHSHIRE. 

FLORENCE,  28th  April,  1861. 

MY  DEAE  JANET,  — 

I  received  the  precious  volume  *  you  have  so 
kindly  sent  to  me  some  days  ago,  but  I  have  delayed 
thanking  you  for  it  till  now  because  we  all  wished  to 
read  it  first.  We  are  highly  pleased,  and  have  been 
deeply  interested  in  it.  The  whole  tone  of  the  book 
is  characteristic  of  your  dear  father;  the  benevolence, 
warm-heartedness,  and  Christian  charity  which  appeared 
in  the  whole  course  of  his  life  and  ministry.  That 
which  has  struck  us  all  most  forcibly  is  the  liberality  of 
his  sentiments,  both  religious  and  political,  at  a  time 
when  narrow  views  and  bigotry  made  it  even  dangerous 
to  avow  them,  and  it  required  no  small  courage  to  do  so. 
He  was  far  in  advance  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived ; 

*  The  Rev.  P.  Somerville's  "Life  and  Times." 


328  Mary  Somerville. 

his  political  opinions  are  those  of  the  present  day,  his 
religious  opinions  still  before  it.  There  are  many  parts 
of  the  book  which  will  please  the  general  reader  from 
the  graphic  description  of  the  manners  and  customs 
of  the  time,^as  well  as  the  narrative  of  his  inter- 
course with  many  of  the  eminent  men  of  his  day. 
Your  most  dear  father's  affectionate  remembrance  of  me 
touches  me  deeply.  I  have  but  one  regret,  dear  Jenny, 
and  that  is  that  our  dear  William  did  not  not  live  to  see 
the  accomplishment  of  what  was  his  dying  wish ;  but 

God's  will  be  done We  are  all  much  as  usual :  I  am 

wonderfully  well,  and  able  to  write,  which  I  do  for  a  time 
every  day.  I  do  not  think  I  feel  any  difference  in  capacity, 
but  I  become  soon  tired,  and  then  I  read  the  news- 
papers, some  amusing  book,  or  work.  .  .  .  Everything  is 
nourishing  in  Italy,  and  the  people  happy  and  contented, 
except  those  who  were  employed  and  dependent  on  the 
former  sovereigns,  but  they  are  few  in  comparison;  and 
now  there  is  a  fine  army  of  200,000  men  to  defend  the 
country,  even  if  Austria  should  make  an  attack,  but 
that  is  not  likely  at  present.  Rome  is  still  the  difficulty, 
but  the  Pope  must  and  soon  will  lose  his  temporal 
power,  for  the  people  are  determined  it  shall  be  so.  ... 
I  am,  dear  sister, 

Most  affectionately  yours, 

MARY  SOMERVILLE. 

To  MRS.  ELLIOT,  of  Rosebank,  Roxburghshire. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

SPEZIA—  GENOA — BEGINS  MOLECULAR  AND  MICROSCOPIC  SCIENCE— TURIN 
— SPEZIA — BRITISH     FLEET — LETTERS      FROM      MRS.      SOMERVILLE — 

GARIBALDI — SEVERE    ILLNESS — FLORENCE — MY    BROTHER'S   DEATH 

NAPLES — ERUPTION  OF  VESUVIUS — J.  S.  MILL— CHANGE  IN  PUBLIC 
OPINION  ON  WOMEN'S  EDUCATION  — EIGHTY-NINTH  YEAR  — DESCRIBES 
HER  OWN  CHARACTER — THOUGHTS  ON  A  FUTURE  LIFE — PROGRESS 
IN  KNOWLEDGE  OF  GEOGRAVHY — VICTORIA  MEDAL— MEDAL  FROM 
ROYAL  ITALIAN  GEOGRAPHICAL  SOCIETY— LETTER  FROM  MENABREA 
— ROME,  CAPITAL  OF  ITALY — AURORA  BOREALIS. 

SOON  after  my  dear  husband's  death,  we  went 
to  Spezia,  as  my  health  required  change,  and 
for  some  time  we  made  it  our  headquarters, 
spending  one  winter  at  Florence,  another  at  Genoa, 
where  my  son  and  his  wife  came  to  meet 
us,  and  where  I  had  very  great  delight  in  the 
beautiful  singing  of  our  old  friend  Clara  Novello, 
now  Countess  Gigliucci,  who  used  to  come  to  my 
house,  and  sing  Handel  to  me.  It  was  a  real 
pleasure,  and  her  voice  was  as  pure  and  silvery 
as  when  I  first  heard  her,  years  before.  Another 
winter  we  spent  at  Turin.  On  returning  to  Spezia 
in  the  summer  of  1861,  the  beautiful  comet  visible 


330  Mary  Somerville. 

that  year  appeared  for  the  first  time  the  very 
evening  we  arrived.  On  the  following,  and  during 
many  evenings  while  it  was  visible,  we  used  to  row 
in  a  small  boa|b  a  little  way  from  shore,  in  order  to 
see  it  to  greater  advantage.  Nothing  could  be  more 
poetical  than  the  clear  starlit  heavens  with  this 
beautiful  comet  reflected,  nay,  almost  repeated,  in 
the  calm  glassy  water  of  the  gulf.  The  perfect 
silence  and  stillness  of  the  scene  was  very  impres- 
sive. 

I  was  now  unoccupied,  and  felt  the  necessity  of 
having  something  to  do,  desultory  reading  being  in- 
sufficient to  interest  me  ;  and  as  I  had  always  con- 
sidered the  section  on  chemistry  the  weakest  part  of 
the  connection  of  the  "Physical  Sciences,"  I  resolved 
to  write  it  anew.  My  daughters  strongly  opposed  this, 
saying,  "  Why  not  write  a  new  book  ? "  They  were 
right ;  it  would  have  been  lost  time  :  so  I  followed 
their  advice,  though  it  was  a  formidable  undertaking 
at  my  age,  considering  that  the  general  character  of 
science  had  greatly  changed.  By  the  improved 
state  of  the  microscope,  an  invisible  creation  in  the 
air,  the  earth,  and  the  water,  had  been  brought 
within  the  limits  of  human  vision  ;  the  microscopic 
structure  of  plants  and  animals  had  been  minutely 
studied,  and  by  synthesis  many  substances  had  been 
formed  of  the  elementary  atoms  similar  to  those 


Microscopic  Science.  331 

produced  by  nature.  Dr.  Tyndall's  experiments  had 
proved  the  inconceivable  minuteness  of  the  atoms 
of  matter;  M.  Gassiot  and  Professor  Pliicher  had 
published  their  experiments  on  the  stratification  of 
the  electric  light ;  and  that  series  of  discoveries  by 
scientific  men  abroad,  but  chiefly  by  our  own 
philosophers  at  home,  which  had  been  in  progress 
for  a  course  of  years,  prepared  the  way  for  Bunsen 
and  Kirchhof  s  marvellous  consummation. 

Such  was  the  field  opened  to  me  ;  but  instead  of 
being  discouraged  by  its  magnitude,  I  seemed  to 
have  resumed  the  perseverance  and  energy  of  my 
youth,  and  began  to  write  with  courage,  though  I 
did  not  think  I  should  live  to  finish  even  the  sketch 
I  had  made,  and  which  I  intended  to  publish  under 
the  name  of  "  Molecular  and  Microscopic  Science," 
and  assumed  as  my  motto,  "  Deus  magnus  in  mag- 
nis,  maximus  in  minimis,"  from  Saint  Augustin. 

My  manuscript  notes  on  Science  were  now  of  the 
greatest  use  ;  and  we  went  for  the  winter  to  Turin 
(1861 — 1862),  where  I  could  get  books  from  the 
public  libraries,  and  much  information  on  subjects  of 
natural  history  from  Professor  De  Filippi,  who  has 
recently  died,  much  regretted,  while  on  a  scientific 
mission  to  Japan  and  China,  as  well  as  from  other 
sources.  I  subscribed  to  various  periodicals  on 
chemical  and  other  branches  of  science;  the  transac- 


332  Mary  Somerville. 

tions  of  several  of  our  societies  were  sent  to  me,  and 
I  began  to  write.  I  was  now  an  old  woman,  very 
deaf  and  with  shaking  hands  ;  but  I  could  still  see 
to  thread  tlfe  finest  needle,  and  read  the  finest  print, 
but  I  got  sooner  tired  when  writing  than  I  used  to 
do.  I  wrote  regularly  every  morning  from  eight  till 
twelve  or  one  o'clock  before  rising.  I  was  not 
alone,  for  I  had  a  mountain  sparrow,  a  great  pet, 
which  sat,  and  indeed  is  sitting  on  my  arm  as  I  write 
these  lines. 

The  Marchese  Doria  has  a  large  property  at  Spezia, 
and  my  dear  friend  Teresa  Doria  generally  spent  the 
evening  with  us,  when  she  and  I  chatted  and  played 
Bezique  together.  Her  sons  also  came  frequently, 
and  some  of  the  officers  of  the  Italian  navy.  One 
who  became  our  very  good  friend  is  Captain  William 
Acton,  now  Admiral,  and  for  two  years  Minister  of 
Marine  ;  he  is  very  handsome,  and,  what  is  better,  a 
most  agreeable,  accomplished  gentleman,  who  has 
interested  himself  in  many  branches  of  natural  his- 
tory, besides  being  a  good  linguist.  In  summer  the 
British  squadron,  commanded  by  Admiral  Smart, 
came  for  five  weeks  to  Spezia.  My  nephew,  Henry 
Fairfax,  was  commander  on  board  the  ironclad 
"Resistance."  Notwithstanding  my  age,  I  was  so 
curious  to  see  an  ironclad  that  I  went  all  over  the 
"Resistance,"  even  to  the  engine-room  and  screw- 


On  Board  a  Flag- Ship.  333 

alley.  I  also  went  to  luncheon  on  board  the  flag- 
ship "  Victoria,"  a  three-decker,  which  put  me  in 
mind  of  olden  times. 

[The  following  extracts  are  from  letters  of  my  mother's, 
written  in  1863  and  1865  : — 

FROM  MRS.  SOMERVILLE  TO  W.  GREIG,  ESQ. 

SPEZIA,  12th  May,  1863. 

How  happy  "y°ur  last  letter  has  made  me,  my 
dearest  Woronzow,  to  hear  that  you  are  making  real  pro- 
gress, and  that  you  begin  to  feel  better  from  the  Bath 

waters Of  your  general  health  I  had  the  very 

best  account  this  morning  from  your  friend  Colonel 
Gordon.  I  was  most  agreeably  surprised  and  gratified 
by  a  very  kind  and  interesting  letter  from  him,  enclosing 
his  photograph,  and  giving  me  an  account  of  his  great 
works  at  Portsmouth  with  reference  to  the  defence  by 
iron  as  well  as  stone 

I  wish  I  could  show  you  the  baskets  full  of  flowers 
which  Martha  and  Mary  bring  to  me  from  the  mountains. 
They  are  wonderfully  beautiful ;  it  is  one  of  my  greatest 
amusements  putting  them  in  water.  I  quite  regret 
when  they  cannot  go  for  them.  The  orchises  and  the 
gladioles  are  the  chief  flowers  now,  but  such  a  variety 
and  such  colours  !  You  see  we  have  our  quiet  plea- 
sures. I  often  think  of  more  than  "  60  years  ago,"  when 
I  used  to  scramble  over  the  Bin  at  Burntisland  after 
our  tods-tails  and  leddies-fingers,  but  I  fear  there  is 
hardly  a  wild  spot  existing  now  in  the  lowlands  of 
Scotland 

God  bless  you,  my  dearest  Woronzow. 


334  Mary  Somerville. 

FROM  MRS.  SOMERVILLE  TO  W.  GREIG,  ESQ. 

SPEZIA,  27th  Sept.,  1865. 
MY  DEARE!%T  WORONZOW, 

I  fear  Agnes  and  you  must  have  thought  your 
old  mother  had  gone  mad  when  you  read  M.'s  letter. 
In  my  sober  senses,  however,  though  sufficiently  excited 
to  give  me  strength  for  the  time,  I  went  over  every  part 
of  the  Resistance,*  and  examined  everything  in  detail 
except  the  stokehole  !  I  was  not  even  hoisted  on  board, 
but  mounted  the  companion-ladder  bravely.  It  was  a 
glorious  sight,  the  perfection  of  structure  in  every  part 
astonished  me.  A  ship  like  that  is  the  triumph  of  human 
talent  and  of  British  talent,  for  all  confess  our  supe- 
rioty  in  this  respect  to  every  other  nation,  and  I  am 
happy  to  see  that  no  jealousy  has  arisen  from  the  meet- 
ing of  the  French  and  English  fleets.  I  was  proud  that 
our  "  young  admiral "  t  had  the  command  of  so  fine  a 
vessel  ....  I  also  spent  a  most  agreeable  day  on  board 
the  Victoria,  three-decker,  and  saw  every  part  of  the  three 
decks,  which  are  very  different  from  what  they  were  in 
my  father's  time  ;  everything  on  a  much  larger  scale,  more 
elegant  and  convenient.  But  the  greatest  change  is  in  the 
men;  I  never  saw  a  finer  set,  so  gentlemanly-looking 
and  well-behaved;  almost  all  can  read  and  write,  and 
they  have  an  excellent  library  and  reading-room  in  all 
the  ships.  No  sooner  was  the  fleet  gone  than  the 
Italian  Society  of  Natural  History  held  their  annual 

*  The  Resistance,  ironclad,  commanded  by  Captain  Chamberlayne, 
then  absent  on  sick  leave. 

f  Captain  Henry  Fairfax,  my  mother's  nephew,  then  Commander  on 
board  the  Resistance,  senior  officer  in  the  absence  of  the  captain. 


Garibaldi.  335 

meeting  here,  Capellini*  being  president  in  the  ahsence  (in 
Borneo)  of  Giacomo  Doria.  There  were  altogether  seventy 
members,  Italian,  French,  and  German.  I  was  chosen  an 
Associate  by  acclamation,  and  had  to  write  a  few  lines  of 
thanks.  The  weather  was  beautiful  and  the  whole  party 
dined  every  day  on  the  terrace  below  our  windows,  which 
was  very  amusing  to  Miss  Campbell  and  your  sisters, 
who  distinctly  heard  the  speeches.  I  was  invited  to  dinner 
and  the  wife  of  the  celebrated  Professor  Vogt  was  asked 
to  meet  me ;  I  declined  dining,  as  it  lasted  so  long  that 
I  should  have  been  too  tired,  but  I  went  down  to  the 
dessert.  Capellini  came  for  me,  and  all  rose  as  I  came 
in,  and  every  attention  was  shown  me,  my  health  was 
drank,  &c.  &c.  It  lasted  four  days,  and  we  had  many 
evening  visits,  and  I  received  a  quantity  of  papers  on  all 
subjects.  I  am  working  very  hard  (for  me  at  least),  but 
I  cannot  hurry,  nor  do  I  see  the  need  for  it.  I  write 
so  slowly  on  account  of  the  shaking  of  my  hand  that 
although  my  head  is  clear  I  make  little  but  steady 

progress  

Your  affectionate  mother, 

,MARY  SOMERVILLE. 


After  the  battle  of  Aspromonte,  Garibaldi  arrived 
a  prisoner  on  board  a  man-of-war,  and  was  placed  at 
Varignano  under  surveillance.  His  wound  had  not 
been  properly  dressed,  and  he  was  in  a  state  of  great 
suffering.  Many  surgeons  came  from  all  parts  of  Italy, 
and  one  even  from  England,  to  attend  him,  but  the 

*  Professor  of  Geology  at  Bologna. 


336  Mary  Somerville. 

eminent  Professor  Nelaton  saved  him  from  amputa- 
tion, with  which  he  was  threatened,  by  extracting 
the  bullet  from  his  ankle.  I  never  saw  Garibaldi 
during  his  three  months'  residence  at  Varignano  and 
Spezia  ;  I  had  no  previous  acquaintance  with  him  ; 
consequently,  as  I  could  be  of  no  use  to  him,  I  did 
not  consider  myself  entitled  to  intrude  upon  him 
merely  to  gratify  my  own  curiosity,  although  no 
one  admired  his  noble  and  disinterested  character 
more  than  I  did.  Not  so,  many  of  my  country- 
men, and  countrywomen  too,  as  well  as  ladies  of 
other  nations,  who  worried  the  poor  man  out  of 
his  life,  and  made  themselves  eminently  ridicu- 
lous. One  lady  went  so  far  as  to  collect  the  hairs 
from  his  comb, — others  showered  tracts  upon  him. 

I  had  hitherto  been  very  healthy ;  but  in  the 
beginning  of  winter  I  was  seized  with  a  severe 
illness  which,  though  not  immediately  dangerous, 
lasted  so  long,  that  it  was  doubtful  whether  I 
should  have  stamina  to  recover.  It  was  a  painful 
and  fatiguing  time  to  my  daughters.  They  were 
quite  worn  out  with  nursing  me  ;  our  maid  was  ill, 
and  our  man-servant,  Luigi  Lucchesi,  watched  me 
with  such  devotion  that  he  sat  up  twenty-four  nights 
with  me.  He  has  been  with  us  eighteen  years,  and 
now  that  I  am  old  and  feeble,  he  attends  me  with 
unceasing  kindness.  It  is  but  justice  to  say  that 


Italian  Servants.  337 

we  never  were  so  faithfully  or  well  served  as  by 
Italians ;  and  none  are  more  ingenious  in  turning 
their  hands  to  anything,  and  in  never  objecting  to 
do  this  or  that,  as  not  what  they  were  hired  for, — a 
great  quality  for  people  who,  like  ourselves,  keep 
few  servants.  After  a  time  they  identify  them- 
selves with  the  family  they  serve,  as  my  faithful 
Luigi  has  done  with  all  his  heart.  I  am  sincerely 
attached  to  him. 

***** 
In  the  spring,  when  I  had  recovered,  my  son  and 
his  wife  came  to  Spezia,  and  we  all  went  to  Flo- 
rence, where  we  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  many  old 
friends.  We  returned  to  Spezia,  and  my  son  and 
his  wife  left  us  to  go  back  to  England,  intending  to 
meet  us  again  somewhere  the  following  spring.  I 

little  thought  we  never  should  meet  again 

My  son  sent  his  sisters  a  beautiful  little  cutter,  built 
by  Mr.  Forrest  in  London,  which  has  been  a  great 
resource  to  them.  I  always  insist  on  their  taking  a 
good  sailor  with  them,  although  I  am  not  in  the 
least  nervous  for  their  safety.  Indeed,  small  as  the 
"  Frolic "  is — and  she  is  only  about  twenty-eight 
feet  from  stem  to  stern — she  has  weathered  some 
stiff  gales  gallantly,  as,  for  instance,  when  our  friend, 
Mr.  Montague  Brown,  British  consul  at  Genoa, 
sailed  her  from  Genoa  to  Spezia  in  very  bad 


338  Mary  Somerville. 

weather  ;  and  in  a  very  dangerous  squall  my  daugh- 
ters were  caught  in,  coming  from  Amalfi  to  Sorrento. 
The  "  Frolic  "  had  only  just  arrived  at  Spezia,  when 
we  heard  fff  the  sudden  death  of  my  de.ar  son,  Oct., 

1865. 

i 

[This  event,  which  took  from  my  mother's  last  years 
one  of  her  chief  delights,  she  bore  with  her  usual 
calm  courage,  looking  forward  confidently  to  a  reunion 
at  no  distant  date  with  one  who  had  been  the  most 
dutiful  of  sons  and  beloved  of  friends.  She  never  per- 
mitted herself,  in  writing  her  Recollections,  to  refer  to 
her  feelings  under  these  great  sorrows. 


Some  time  after  this,  my  widowed  daughter-in-law 
spent  a  few  months  with  us.  On  her  return  to  London, 
I  sent  the  manuscript  of  the  "  Molecular  and  Micro- 
scopic Science  "  with  her  for  publication.  In  writing 
this  book  I  made  a  great  mistake,  and  repent  it. 
Mathematics  are  the  natural  bent  of  my  mind.  If 
I  had  devoted  myself  exclusively  to  that  study,  I 
might  probably  have  written  something  useful,  as  a 
new  era  had  begun  in  that  science.  Although  I  got 
"  Chales  on  the  Higher  Geometry/'  it  could  be  but 
a  secondary  object  while  I  was  engaged  in  writing 
a  popular  book.  Subsequently,  it  became  a  source 
of  deep  interest  and  occupation  to  me. 


Spezia.  339 

Spezia  is  very  much  spoilt  by  the  works  in 
progress  for  the  arsenal,  though  nothing  can  change 
the  beauty  of  the  gulf  as  seen  from  our  windows, 
especially  the  group  of  the  Carrara  mountains,  with 
fine  peaks  and  ranges  of  hills,  becoming  more  and 
more  verdant  down  to  the  water's  edge.  The  effect 
of  the  setting-sun  on  this  group  is  varied'  and 
brilliant  beyond  belief.  Even  I,  in  spite  of  my 
shaking  hand,  resumed  the  brush,  and  painted  a 
view  of  the  ruined  Castle  of  Ostia,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Tiber,  from  a  sketch  of  my  own,  for  my  dear 
friend  Teresa  Doria. 

We  now  came  to  live  at  Naples ;  and  on  leaving 
Spezia,  I  spent  a  fortnight  with  Count  and  Countess 
Usedom  at  the  Villa  Capponi,  near  Florence,  where, 
though  unable  to  visit,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
my  Florentine  friends  again. 

We  spent  two  days  in  Rome,  and  dined  with  our 
friends  the  Duca  and  Duchesa  di  Sermoneta.  We 
were  grieved  at  his  blindness,  but  found  him  as 
agreeable  as  ever. 

Through  our  friend,  Admiral  Acton,  I  became 
acquainted  with  Professor  Panceri,  Professor 
of  Comparative  Anatomy ;  Signore  de  Gasparis, 
who  has  discovered  nine  of  the  minor  planets, 
and  is  an  excellent  mathematician,  and  some 
others.  To  these  gentlemen  I  am  indebted  for  being 

8  2 


340  Mary  Somerville. 

elected    an   honorary   member  of  the   Accademia 
Ponton  i  ana. 

We  were  much  interested  in  Vesuvius,  which,  for 
several  months,  was  in  a  state  of  great  activity. 
At  first,  there  were  only  volumes  of  smoke  and 
some  small  streams  of  lava,  but  these  were  followed 
by  the  most  magnificent  projections  of  red  hot 
stones  and  rocks  rising  2,000  feet  above  the  top  of 
the  mountain.  Many  fell  back  again  into  the  crater, 
but  a  large  portion  were  thrown  in  fiery  showers 
down  the  sides  of  the  cone.  At  length,  these 
beautiful  eruptions  of  lapilli  ceased,  and  the  lava 
flowed  more  abundantly,  though,  being  intermittent 
and  always  issuing  from  the  summit,  it  was  quite 
harmless  ;  volumes  of  smoke  and  vapour  rose  from 
the  crater,  and  were  carried  by  the  wind  to  a  great 
distance.  In  sunshine  the  contrast  was  beautiful, 
between  the  jet-black  smoke  and  the  silvery- white 
clouds  of  vapour.  At  length,  the  mountain  re- 
turned to  apparent  tranquillity,  though  the  violent 
detonations  occasionally  heard  gave  warning  that 
the  calm  might  not  last  long.  At  last,  one  evening, 
in  November,  1868,  when  one  of  my  daughters  and 
1  were  observing  the  mountain  through  a  very 
good  telescope,  lent  us  by  a  friend,  we  distinctly  saw 
a  new  crater  burst  out  at  the  foot  of  the  cone  in  the 
Atrio  del  Cavallo,  and  bursts  of  red-hot  lapilli  and 


Eruption  of  Vesuvius.  341 

red  smoke  pouring  forth  in  volumes.  Early  next 
morning  we  saw  a  great  stream  of  lava  pouring 
down  to  the  north  of  the  Observatory,  and  a  column 
of  black  smoke  issuing  from  the  new  craters,  be- 
cause there  were  two,  and  assuming  the  well-known 
appearance  of  a  pine-tree.  The  trees  on  the  northern 
edge  of  the  lava  were  already  on  fire.  The  stream 
of  lava  very  soon  reached  the  plain,  where  it 
overwhelmed  fields,  vineyards,  and  houses.  It  was 
more  than  a  mile  in  width  and  thirty  feet  deep. 
My  daughters  went  up  the  mountain  the  evening 
after  the  new  craters  were  formed ;  as  for  me,  I 
could  not  risk  the  fatigue  of  such  an  excursion,  but 
I  saw  it  admirably  from  our  own  windows.  During 
this  year  the  volcanic  forces  in  the  interior  of  the 
earth  were  in  unusual  activity,  for  a  series  of  earth- 
quakes shook  the  west  coast  of  South  America  for 
more  than  2,500  miles,  by  which  many  thousands  of 
the  inhabitants  perished,  and  many  more  were 
rendered  homeless.  Slight  shocks  were  felt  in  many 
parts  of  Europe,  and  even  in  England.  Vesuvius 
was  our  safety-valve.  The  pressure  must  have  been 
very  great  which  opened  two  new  craters  in  the  Atrio 
del  Cavallo  and  forced  out  such  a  mass  of  matter. 
There  is  no  evidence  that  water  had  been  concerned 
in  the  late  eruption  of  Vesuvius  ;  but  during  the 
whole  of  the  preceding  autumn,  the  fall  of  rain  had 


342  Mary  Somerville. 

been  unusually  great  and  continuous.  There  were 
frequent  thunder-storms  ;  and,  on' one  occasion,  the 
qua.ntity  of  rain  that  fell  was  so  great,  as  to  cause 
a  land-slip  in  Pizzifalcone,  by  which  several  houses 
were  overwhelmed  ;  and,  on  another  occasion,  the 
torrent  of  rain  was  so  violent,  that  the  Kiviera  di 
Chiaja  was  covered,  to  the  depth  of  half  a  metre, 
with  mud,  and  stones  brought  down  by  the  water 
from  the  heights  above.  This  enormous  quantity  of 
water  pouring  on  the  slopes  of  Vesuvius,  and  per- 
colating through  the  crust  of  the  earth  into  the 
fiery  caverns,  where  volcanic  forces  are  generated, 
being  resolved  into  steam,  and  possibly  aided  by  the 
expansion  of  volcanic  gases,  may  have  been  a  partial 
agent  in  propelling  the  formidable  stream  of  lava 
which  has  caused  such  destruction.  We  observed, 
.that  when  lava  abounded,  the  projection  of  rocks 
and  lapilli  either  ceased  altogether,  or  became  of 
small  amount.  The  whole  eruption  ended  in  a 
shower  of  impalpable  ashes,  which  hid  the  moun- 
tain for  many  days,  and  which  were  carried  to  a 
great  distance  by  the  wind.  Sometimes  the  ashes 
were  pure  white,  giving  the  mountain  the  appear- 
ance of  being  covered  with  snow.  Vapour  con- 
tinued to  rise  from  Vesuvius  in  beautiful  silvery 
clouds,  which  ceased  and  left  the  edge  of  the  crater 
white  with  sublimations.  I  owe  to  Vesuvius  the 


High   Temperature.  343 

great  pleasure  of  making  the  acquaintance  of  Mr. 
Phillips,  Professor  of  Geology  in  the  University  of 
Oxford ;  and,  afterwards,  that  of  Sir  John  Lubbock, 
and  Professor  Tyndall,  who  had  come  to  Naples  on 
purpose  to  see  the  eruption.  Unfortunately,  Sir 
John  Lubbock  and  Professor  Tyndall  were  so 
limited  for  time,  that  they  could  only  spend  one 
evening  with  us  ;  but  I  enjoyed  a  delightful  evening, 
and  had  much  scientific  conversation. 

Notwithstanding  the  progress  meteorology  has 
made  since  it  became  a  subject  of 'exact  observation, 
yet  no  explanation  has  been  given  of  the  almost  un- 
precedented high  summer  temperature  of  1868  in 
Great  Britain,  and  even  in  the  Arctic  regions.  In 
England,  the  grass  and  heather  were  dried  up,  and 
extensive  areas  were  set  on  fire  by  sparks  from  rail- 
way locomotives,  the  conflagrations  spreading  so 
rapidly,  that  they  could  only  be  arrested  by  cutting 
trenches  to  intercept  their  course.  The  whalers 
found  open  water  to  a  higher  latitude  than  usual ; 
but,  although  the  British  Government  did  not  avail 
themselves  of  this  opportunity  for  further  Arctic  dis- 
covery, Sweden,  Germany,  France,  and  especially 
the  United  States,  have  taken  up  the  subject  with 
great  energy.  Eight  expeditions  sailed  for  the  North 
Polar  region  between  the  years  1868  and  1870; 
several  for  the  express  purpose  of  reaching  the 


344  Mary  Somerville. 

Polar  Sea,  which,  I  have  no  doubt,  will  be  attained, 
now  that  steam  has  given  such  power  to  penetrate 
the  fields  of  floating  ice.  It  would  be  more  than  a 
dashing  exploit  to  make  a  cruise  on  that  unknown 
sea ;  it  would  be  a  discovery  of  vast  scientific  im- 
portance with  regard  to  geography,  magnetism,  tem- 
perature, the  general  circulation  of  the  atmosphere 
and  oceans,  as  well  as  to  natural  history.  I  cannot 
but  regret  that  I  shall  not  live  to  hear  the  result  of 
these  voyages. 


The  British  laws  are  adverse  to  women ;  and  we 
are  deeply  indebted  to  Mr.  Stuart  Mill  for  daring 
to  show  their  iniquity  and  injustice.  The  law  in  the 
United  States  is  in  some  respects  even  worse,  in- 
sulting the  sex,  by  granting  suffrage  to  the  newly- 
emancipated  slaves,  and  refusing  it  to  the  most 
highly-educated  women  of  the  Eepublic. 

[For  the  noble  character  and  transcendent  intellect  of 
Mr.  J.  S.  Mill  ray  mother  had  the  greatest  admiration. 
She  had  some  correspondence  with  him  on  the  subject  of 
the  petition  to  Parliament  for  the  extension  of  the  suf- 
frage to  women,  which  she  signed ;  and  she  also  wrote  to 
thank  him  warmly  for  his  book  on  the  "  Subjection  of 
Women."  In  Mr.  Mill's  reply  to  the  latter  he  says  : — 


Letter  from  Mill  345 


FEOM  JOHN   STUART  MILL,  ESQ.,  TO  MRS.  SOMERVILLE. 

BLACKHEATH  PAKK,  July  )2tk,  1869. 
DEAR  MADAM, 

Such  a  letter  as  yours  is  a  sufficient  reward 
for  the  trouble  of  writing  the  little  hook.  I  could  have 
desired  no  better  proof  that  it  was  adapted  to  its  purpose 
than  such  an  encouraging  opinion  from  you.  I  thank 
you  heartily  for  taking  the  trouble  to  express,  in  such 
kind  terms,  your  approbation  of  the  book, — the  approba- 
tion of  one  who  has  rendered  such  inestimable  service  to 
the  cause  of  women  by  affording  in  her  own  person  so 
high  an  example  of  their  intellectual  capabilities,  and, 
finally,  by  giving  to  the  protest  in  the  great  Petition  of 
last  year  the  weight  and  importance  derived  from  the 
signature  which  headed  it. 
I  am, 

Dear  Madam, 
Most  sincerely  and  respectfully  yours, 

J.  S.  MILL. 


Age  has  not  abated  my  zeal  for  the  emancipation 
of  my  sex  from  the  unreasonable  prejudice  too 
prevalent  in  Great  Britain  against  a  literary  and 
scientific  education  for  women.  The  French  are 
more  civilized  in  this  respect,  for  they  have  taken 
the  lead,  and  have  given  the  first  example  in  modern 
times  of  encouragement  to  the  high  intellectual 
culture  of  the  sex.  Madame  Emma  Chenu,  who 
had  received  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  from 


346  Mary  Somerville. 

the  Academy  of  Sciences  in  Paris,  has  more  re- 
cently received  the  diploma  of  Licentiate  in  Mathe- 
matical Sciences  from  the  same  illustrious  Society, 
after  a  successful  examination  in  algebra,  trigo- 
nometry, analytical  geometry,  the  differential  and 
integral  calculi,  and  astronomy.  A  Russian  lady 
has  also  taken  a  degree;  and  a  lady  of  my  ac- 
quaintance has  received  a  gold  medal  from  the  same 
Institution. 

I  joined  in  a  petition  to  the  Senate  of  London 
University,  praying  that  degrees  might  be  granted 
to  women  ;  but  it  was  rejected.  I  have  also  fre- 
quently signed  petitions  to  Parliament  for  the 
Female  Suffrage,  and  have  the  honour  now  to  be  a 
member  of  the  General  Committee  for  Woman 
Suffrage  in  London. 


[My  mother,  in  alluding  to  the  great  changes  in  public 
opinion  which  she  had  lived  to  see,  used  to  remark  that 
a  commonly  well-informed  woman  of  the  present  day 
would  have  been  looked  upon  as  a  prodigy  of  learning  in 
her  youth,  and  that  even  till  quite  lately  many  considered 
that  if  women  were  to  receive  the  solid  education  men 
enjoy,  they  would  forfeit  much  of  their  feminine  grace 
and  become  unfit  to  perform  their  domestic  duties.  My 
mother  herself  was  one  of  the  brightest  examples  of  the 
fallacy  of  this  old-world  theory,  for  no  one  was  more 
thoroughly  and  gracefully  feminine  than  she  was,  both  in 


Claims  of  Women,  347 

manner  and  appearance ;  and,  as  I  have  already  men- 
tioned, no  amount  of  scientific  labour  ever  induced  her  to 
neglect  her  home  duties.  She  took  the  liveliest  interest  in 
all  that  has  been  done  of  late  years  to  extend  high  class 
education  to  women,  both  classical  and  scientific,  and 
hailed  the  establishment  of  the  Ladies'  College  at  Girton 
as  a  great  step  in  the  true  direction,  and  one  which  could 
not  fail  to  obtain  most  important  results.  Her  scientific 
library,  as  already  stated,  has  been  presented  to  this 
College  as  the  best  fulfilment  of  her  wishes. 


I  have  lately  entered  my  89th  year,  grateful  to 
God  for  the  innumerable  blessings  He  has  bestowed 
on  me  and  my  children ;  at  peace  with  all  on  earth, 
and  I  trust  that  I  may  be  at  peace  with  my  Maker 
when  my  last  hour  comes,  which  cannot  now  be  far 
distant. 

Although  I  have  been  tried  by  many  severe 
afflictions,  my  life  upon  the  whole  has  been 
happy.  In  my  youth  I  had  to  contend  with 
prejudice  and  illiberality  ;  yet  I  was  of  a  quiet 
temper,  and  easy  to  live  with,  and  I  never 
interfered  with  or  pryed  into  other  people's 
affairs.  However,  if  irritated  by  what  I  considered 
unjust  criticism  or  interference  with  myself,  or  any 
one  I  loved,  I  could  resent  it  fiercely.  I  was  not 
good  at  argument ;  I  was  apt  to  lose  my  temper  ;  but 
I  never  bore  ill  will  to  any  one,  or  forgot  the  manners 


348  Mary  Somerville. 

of  a  gentlewoman,  however  angry  I  may  have  been 
at  the  time.  But  I  must  •  say  that  no  one  ever  met 
with  such  kindness  as  I  have  done.  I  never  had  an 
enemy.  I  have  never  been  of  a  melancholy  dis- 
position ;  though  depressed  sometimes  by  circum- 
stances, I  always  rallied  again ;  and  although  I 
seldom  laugh,  I  can  laugh  heartily  at  wit  or  on  fit 
occasion.  The  short  time  I  have  to  live  naturally 
occupies  my  thoughts.  In  the  blessed  hope  of  meet- 
ing again  with  my  beloved  children,  and  those  who 
were  and  are  dear  to  me  on  earth,  I  think  of  death 
with  composure  and  perfect  confidence  in  the  mercy 
of  God.  Yet  to  me,  who  am  afraid  to  sleep  alone 
on  a  stormy  night,  or  even  to  sleep  comfortably  any 
night  unless  some  one  is  near,  it  is  a  fearful  thought, 
that  my  spirit  must  enter  that  new  state  of  exist- 
ence quite  alone.  We  are  told  of  the  infinite 
glories  of  that  state,  and  I  believe  in  them,  though 
it  is  incomprehensible  to  us ;  but  as  I  do  compre- 
hend, in  some  degree  at  least,  the  exquisite  loveli- 
ness of  the  visible  world,  I  confess  I  shall  be  sorry 
to  leave  it.  I  shall  regret  the  sky,  the  sea,  with  all 
the  changes  of  their  beautiful  colouring  ;  the  earth, 
with  its  verdure  and  flowers  :  but  far  more  shall  I 
grieve  to  leave  animals  who  have  followed  our  steps 
affectionately  for  years,  without  knowing  for  cer- 
tainty their  ultimate  fate,  though  I  firmly  believe 


Geography.  349 

that  the  living  principle  is  never  extinguished.  Since 
the  atoms  of  matter  are  indestructible,  as  far  as  we 
know,  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  the  spark  which 
gives  to  their  union  life,  memory,  affection,  intelli- 
gence, and  fidelity,  is  evanescent.  Every  atom  in 
the  human  frame,  as  well  as  in  that  of  animals, 
undergoes  a  periodical  change  by  continual  waste 
and  renovation  ;  the  abode  is  changed,  not  its  in- 
habitant. If  animals  have  no  future,  the  existence 
of  many  is  most  wretched  ;  multitudes  are  starved, 
cruelly  beaten,  and  loaded  during  life;  many  die 
under  a  barbarous  vivisection.  I  cannot  believe  that 
any  creature  was  created  for  uncompensated  misery; 
it  would  be  contrary  to  the  attributes  of  God's 
mercy  and  justice.  I  am  sincerely  happy  to  find 
that  I  am  not  the  only  believer  in  the  immortality 
of  the  lower  animals. 

*  *  *  *  * 

When  I  was  taught  geography  by  the  village 
schoolmaster  at  Burntisland,  it  seemed  to  me  that 
half  the  world  was  terra  incognita,  and  now  that  a 
new  edition  of  my  "  Physical  Geography  "  is  re- 
quired, it  will  be  a  work  of  great  labour  to  bring  it 
up  to  the  present  time.  The  discoveries  in  South 
Africa  alone  would  fill  a  volume.  Japan  and  China 
have  been  opened  to  Europeans  since  my  last 
edition.  The  great  continent  of  Australia  was  an 


35 0  Mary  Somerville. 

entirely  unknown  country,  except  part  of  the  coast. 
Now  telegrams  have  been  sent  and  answers  received 
in  the  course  of  a  few  hours,  from  our  countrymen 
throughout  that  mighty  empire,  and  even  from 
New  Zealand,  round  half  the  globe.  The  inhabitants 
of  the  United  States  are  our  offspring ;  so  whatever 
may  happen  to  Great  Britain  in  the  course  of  events, 
it  still  will  have  the  honour  of  colonizing,  and  con- 
sequently civilizing,  half  the  world. 

In  all  recent  geographical  discoveries,  our  Royal 
Geographical  Society  has  borne  the  most  important 
part,  and  none  of  its  members  have  done  more  than 
my  highly-gifted  friend  the  President,  Sir  Roderick 
Murchison,  geologist  of  Russia,  and  founder  and 
author  of  the  colossal  "  Silurian  System/'  To  the 
affection  of  this  friend,  sanctioned  by  the  unanimous 
approval  of  the  council  of  that  illustrious  Society,  I 
owe  the  honour  of  being  awarded  the  Victoria  Medal 
for  my  "  Physical  Geography."  An  honour  so  un- 
expected, and  so  far  beyond  my  merit,  surprised  and 
affected  me  more  deeply  than  I  can  find  words  to 
express. 

In  the  events  of  my  life  it  may  be  seen  how 
much  I  have  been  honoured  by  the  scientific 
societies  and  universities  of  Italy,  many  of  whom 
have  elected  me  an  honorary  member  or  associate ; 
but  the  greatest  honour  -I  have  received  in  Italy  has 


Letter  from  Menabrea.  351 

been  the  gift  of  the  first  gold  medal  hitherto 
awarded  by  the  Geographical  Society  at  Florence, 
and  which  was  coined  on  purpose,  with  my  name 
on  the  reverse.  I  received  it  the  other  day,  accom- 
panied by  the  following  letter  from  General  Mena- 
brea, President  of  the  Council,  himself  a  distin- 
guished mathematician  and  philosopher : — 

FROM  GENERAL  MENABREA  TO  MRS.  SOMERVILLE. 

FLOKENCE,  30  Juin,  1869. 
MADAME, 

J'ai  pris  connaissance  avec  le  plus  grand  interet  de 
la  belle  edition  de  votre  dernier  ouvrage  sur  la  Geographic 
Physique,  et  je  desire  vous  donner  un  temoignage  d'haute 
estime  pour  vos  travaux.  Je  vous  prie  done,  Madame, 
d'accepter  une  medaille  d'or  a  1'effigie  du  Hoi  Victor 
Emmanuel,  mon  auguste  souverain.  C'est  un  souvenir 
de  mon  pays  dans  lequel  vous  comptez,  comme  chez 
•toutes  les  nations  ou  la  science  est  honore,  de  nombreux 
amis  et  admirateurs.  Veuillez  croire,  Madame,  que  je 
ne  cesserai  d'etre  1'un  et  1'autre  en  meme  temps  que  je 
suis, 

Votre  tres  devoue  Serviteur, 

MENABREA. 


At  a  general  assembly  of  the  Italian  Geographical 
Society,  at  Florence,  on  the  14th  March,  1870,  I 
was  elected  by  acclamation  an  Honorary  Associate  of 
that  distinguished  society.  I  am  indebted  to  the 
President,  the  Commendatore  Negri,  for  having  pro- 


352  Mary  Somerville. 

posed  my  name,   and   for   a  very  kind   letter,  in- 
forming me  of  the  honour  conferred  upon  me. 
*  #  *  *  * 

I  have  still  (in  1869)  the  habit  of  studying  in 
bed  from  eight  in  the  morning  till  twelve  or  one 
o'clock  ;  but,  I  am  left  solitary  ;  for  I  have  lost  my 
little  bird  who  was  my  constant  companion  for  eight 
years.  It  had  both  memory  and  intelligence,  and 
such  confidence  in  me  as  to  sleep  upon  my  arm 
while  I  was  writing.  My  daughter,  to  whom  it 
was  much  attached,  coming  into  my  room  early, 
was  alarmed  at  its  not  flying  to  meet  her,  as  it 
generally  did,  and  at  last,  after  a  long  search,  the 
poor  little  creature  was  found  drowned  in  the  jug. 

On  the  4th  October,  while  at  dinner,  we  had  a 
shock  of  earthquake.  The  vibrations  were  nearly 
north  and  south  ;  it  lasted  but  a  few  seconds,  and 
was  very  slight ;  but  in  Calabria,  &c.,  many  villages 
and  towns  were  overthrown,  and  very  many  people 
perished.  The  shocks  were  repeated  again  and 
again ;  only  one  was  felt  at  Naples ;  but  as  it 
occurred  in  the  night,  we  were  unconscious  of  it. 
At  Naples,  it  was  believed  there  would  be  an 
eruption  of  Vesuvius ;  for  the  smoke  was  particu- 
larly dense  and  black,  and  some  of  the  wells  were 
dried  up. 


Aurora.  353 

I  can  scarcely  believe  that  Rome,  where  I  have 
spent  so  many  happy  years,  is  now  the  capital  of 
united  Italy.  I  heartily  rejoice  in  that  glorious  ter- 
mination to  the  vicissitudes  the  country  has  under- 
gone, and  only  regret  that  age  and  infirmity  prevent 
me  from  going  to  see  Victor  EinmaDuel  triumphantly 
enter  the  capital  of  his  kingdom.  The  Pope's  reliance 
on  foreign  troops  for  his  safety  was  an  unpardon- 
able insult  to  his  countrymen. 

***** 

The  month  of  October  this  year  (1*870),  seems  to 
have  been  remarkable  for  displays  of  the  Aurora 
Borealis.  It  seriously  interfered  with  the  working 
of  the  telegraphs,  particularly  in  the  north  of  Eng- 
land and  Ireland.  On  the  night  of  the  24th  Oc- 
tober, it  was  seen  over  the  greater  part  of  Europe. 
At  Florence,  the  common  people  were  greatly 
alarmed,  and  at  Naples,  the  peasantry  were  on  their 
knees  to  the  Madonna  to  avert  the  evil.  Unfortu- 
nately, neither  I  nor  any  of  my  family  saw  the 
Aurora ;  for  most  of  our  windows  have  a  southern 
aspect.  The  frequent  occurrence  of  the  Aurora  in 
1870  confirms  the  already  known  period  of  maxi- 
mum intensity  and  frequency,  every  ten  or  twelve 
years,  since  the  last  maximum  occurred  in  1859. 


A  A 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

ECLIPSE — VISITS  OF  SCIENTIFIC  MEN — LIFE  AT  NAPLES — DARWIN's  BOOKS 
— REMARKS  ON  CIVILISATION — FINE  AURORA  BOREALIS — DEATH  OF 
HERSCHEL — SUMMER  AT  SORRENTO  —  BILL  FOR  PROTECTION  OF 
ANIMALS — NINETY-SECOND  YEAR — LETTER  FROM  PROFESSOR  SEDG- 
WICK — GRAND  *"  ERUPTION  OF  VESUVIUS— LAST  SUMMER  AT 
SORRENTO,  PLANTS  FOUND  THERB— CONCLUSION. 

THE  summer  of  1870  was  unusually  cool;  but 
the  winter  has  been  extremely  gloomy,  with  torrents 
of  rain,  and  occasionally  such  thick  fogs,  that  I 
could  see  neither  to  read  nor  to  write.  We  had  no 
storms  during  the  hot  weather  ;  but  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  21st  December,  there  was  one  of  the 
finest  thunderstorms  I  ever  saw  ;  the  lightning  was 
intensely  vivid,  and  took  the  strangest  forms,  dart- 
ing in  all  directions  through  the  air  before  it  struck, 
and  sometimes  darting  from  the  ground  or  the  sea 
to  the  clouds.  It  ended  in  a  deluge  of  rain,  which 
lasted  all  night,  and  made  us  augur  ill  for  the  solar 
eclipse  next  day ;  and,  sure  enough,  when  I  awoke 
next  morning,  the  sky  was  darkened  by  clouds  and 
rain.  Fortunately,  it  cleared  up  just  as  the  eclipse 


The  Eclipse  of  1 870.  355 

began ;  we  were  all  prepared  for  observing  it,  and  we 
followed  its  progress  through  the  opening  in  the  clouds 
till  at  last  there  was  only  a  very  slender  crescent  of 
the  sun's  disc  left ;  its  convexity  was  turned  upwards, 
and  its  horns  were  nearly  horizontal.  It  was  then 
hidden  by  a  dense  mass  of  clouds  ;  but  after  a  time 
they  opened,  and  I  saw  the  edge  of  the  moon  leave 
the  limb  of  the  sun.  The  appearance  of  the  land- 
scape was  very  lurid,  but  by  no  means  very  dark. 
The  common  people  and  children  had  a  very  good 
view  of  the  eclipse,  reflected  by  the  pools  of  water 
in  the  streets. 

Many  of  the  astronomers  who  had  been  in  Sicily 
observing  the  eclipse  came  to  see  me  as  they  passed 
through  Naples.  One  of  their  principal  objects  was 
to  ascertain  the  nature  of  the  corona,  or  bright  white 
rays  which  surround  the  dark  lunar  disc  at  the 
time  of  the  greatest  obscurity.  The  spectroscope 
showed  that  it  was  decidedly  auroral,  but  as  the 
aurora  was  seen  on  the  dark  disc  of  the  moon  it 
must  have  been  due  to  the  earth's  atmosphere.  Part 
of  the  corona  was  polarized,  and  consequently  must 
have  been  material ;  the  question  is,  Can  it  be  the 
etherial  medium  ?  A  question  of  immense  impor- 
tance, since  the  whole  theory  of  light  and  colours 
and  the  resistance  of  Encke's  comet  depends  upon 
that  hypothesis.  The  question  is  still  in  abeyance, 

A  A  2 


356'  Mary  Somerville. 

but  I  have  no  doubt  that  it  will  be  decided  in  the 
affirmative,  and  that  even  the  cause  of  gravitation 
will  be  known  eventually. 

At  this  time  I  had  the  pleasure  of  a  visit  from 
Mr.  Peirce,  Professor  of  Mathematics  and  Astronomy, 
in  the  Harvard  University,  U.S.,  and  Superintendent 
of  the.  U.S.  Coast  Survey,  who  had  come  to  Europe 
to  observe  the  eclipse.  On  returning  to  America 
he  kindly  sent  me  a  beautiful  lithographed  copy  of 
a  very  profound  memoir  in  linear  and  associative 
algebra.  Although  in  writing  my  popular  books  I 
had  somewhat  neglected  the  higher  algebra,  I  have 
read  a  great  part  of  the  work  ;  but  as  I  met  with 
some  difficulties  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Spottiswoode,  asking 
his  advice  as  to  the  books  that  would  be  of  use,  and 
he  sent  me  Serret's  "  Cours  d'Algebre  Supe'rieure," 
Salmon's  "  Higher  Algebra,"  and  Tait  on  "  Quater- 
nions ; "  so  now  I  got  exactly  what  I  wanted,  and  I 
am  very  busy  for  a  few  hours  every  morning ;  de- 
lighted to  have  an  occupation  so  entirely  to  my 
mind.  I  thank  God  that  my  intellect  is  still 
unimpaired.  I  am  grateful  to  Professor  Peirce 
for  giving  me  an  opportunity  of  exercising  it  so 
agreeably.  During  the  rest  of  the  day  I  have 
recourse  to  Shakespeare,  Dante,  and  more  modern 
light  reading,  besides  the  newspapers,  which  always 
interested  me  much.  I  have  resumed  my  habit 


Darwinism.  357 

of  working,  and  can  count  the  threads  of  a  fine 
canvas  without  spectacles.  I  receive  every  one  who 
comes  to  see  me,  jind  often  have  the  pleasure  of  a 
visit  from  old  friends  very  unexpectedly.  In  the 
evening  I  read  a  novel,  but  my  tragic  days  are 
over ;  I  prefer  a  cheerful  conversational  novel  to 
the  sentimental  ones.  I  have  recently  been 
reading  Walter  Scott's  novels  again,  and  enjoyed 
the  broad  Scotch  in  them.  I  play  a  few  games 
at  B^zique  with  one  of  my  daughters,  for  honour 
and  glory,  and  so  our  evenings  pass  pleasantly 
enough. 

It  is  our  habit  to  be  separately  occupied  during 
the  morning,  and  spend  the  rest  of  the  da/ together. 
We  are  fond  of  birds  and  have  several,  all  very 
tame.  Our  tame  nightingales  sing  very  beautifully, 
but,  strange  to  say,  not  at  night.  We  have  also 
some  solitary  sparrows,  which  are,  in  fact,  a  variety 
of  the  thrush  (Turdus  cyaneus),  and  some  birds 
which  we  rescued  from  destruction  in  spring,  when 
caught  and  ill-used  by  the  boys  in  the  streets ; 
besides,  we  have  our  dogs  ;  all  of  which  afford  me 
amusement  and  interest. 

***** 

Mr.  Murray  has  kindly  sent  me  a  copy  of  Darwin's 
recent  work  on  the  "  Descent  of  Man."  Mr.  Darwin 
maintains  his  theory  with  great  •  talent  and  with 


358  Mary  Somerville. 

profound  research.  His  knowledge  of  the  characters 
and  habits  of  animals  of  all  kinds  is  very  great,  and 
his  kindly  feelings  charming.  It  is  chiefly  by  the 
feathered  race  that  he  has  established  his  law  of 
selection  relative  to  sex.  The  males  of  many  birds 
are  among  the  most  beautiful  objects  in  nature  ; 
but  that  the  beauty  of  nature  is  altogether  irrelative 
to  man's  admiration  or  appreciation,  is  strikingly 
proved  by  the  admirable  sculpture  on  Diatoms  and 
Foraminifera  ;  beings  whose  very  existence  was  un- 
known prior  to  the  invention  of  the  microscope. 
The  Duke  of  Argyll  has  illustrated  this  in  the 
"  Reign  of  Law,"  by  the  variety,  graceful  forms  and 
beautiful  colouring  of  the  humming  birds  in  forests 
which  man  has  never  entered. 

In  Mr.  Darwin's  book  it  is  amusing  to  see  how 
conscious  the  male  birds  are  of  their  beauty;  they  have 
reason  to  be  so,  but  we  scorn  the  vanity  of  the  savage 
who  decks  himself  in  their  spoils.  Many  women 
without  remorse  allow  the  life  of  a  pretty  bird  to  be 
extinguished  in  order  that  they  may  deck  themselves 
with  its  corpse.  In  fact,  humming  birds  and  other 
foreign  birds  have  become  an  article  of  commerce. 
Our  kingfishers  and  many  of  our  other  birds  are 
on  the  eve  of  extinction  on  account  of  a  cruel 
fashion. 

I  have  just  received  from  Frances  Power  Cobbe 


Tylors  Researches.  359 

an  essay,  in  which  she  controverts  Darwin's  theory,* 
so  far  as  the  origin  of  the  moral  sense  is  concerned. 
It  is  written  with  all  the  energy  of  her  vigorous 
intellect  as  a  moral  philosopher,  yet  with  a  kindly 
tribute  to  Mr.  Darwin's  genius.  I  repeat  no  one 
admires  Frances  Cobbe  more  than  I  do.  I  have 
ever  found  her  a  brilliant,  charming  companion, 
and  a  warm,  affectionate  friend.  She  is  one  of 
the  few  with  whom  I  keep  up  a  correspondence. 

To  Mr.  Murray  I  am  indebted  for  a  copy  of 
Tylor's  "  Researches  on  the  Early  History  of  Man- 
kind, and  the  Development  of  Civilization" — a  very 
remarkable  work  for  extent  of  research,  original 
views,  and  happy  illustrations.  The  gradual  pro- 
gress of  the  pre-historic  races  of  mankind  has  laid  a 
foundation  from  which  Mr.  Tylor  proves  that  after 
the  lapse  of  ages  the  barbarous  races  now  existing 
are  decidedly  in  a  state  of  progress  towards  civiliza- 
tion. Yet  one  cannot  conceive  human  beings  in  a 
more  degraded  state  than  some  of  them  are  still;  their 
women  are  treated  worse  than  their  dogs.  Sad  to  say, 
no  savages  are  more  gross  than  the  lowest  ranks  in 
England,  or  treat  their  wives  with  more  cruelty. 
***** 

In  the  course  of  my  life  Paris  has  been  twice 
occupied  by   foreign    troops,  and  still   oftener  has 

*  "  Darwinism  in  Morals,"  &c. 


360  Mary  Somerville. 

it  been  in  a  state  of  anarchy.  I  regret  to 
see  that  La  Place's  house  at  Arcoeuil  has  been 
broken  into,  and  his  manuscripts  thrown  into  the 
river,  from  which  some  one  has  fortunately  rescued 
that  of  the  "Me'canique  Celeste/'  which  is  in  his 
own  handwriting.  It  is  greatly  to  the  honour  of 
French  men  of  science  that  during  the  siege  they 
met  as  usual  in  the  hall  of  the  Institute,  and  read 
their  papers  as  in  the  time  of  peace.  The  celebrated 
astronomer  Janssen  even  escaped  in  a  balloon,  that 
he  might  arrive  in  time  to  observe  the  eclipse  of  the 
22nd  November,  1870. 

*  *  *  *  * 

We  had  a  most  brilliant  display  of  the  Aurora  on 
the  evening  of  Sunday,  the  4th  February,  1871, 
which  lasted  several  hours.  The  whole  sky  from 
east  to  west  was  of  the  most  brilliant  flickering 
white  light,  from  which  streamers  of  red  darted  up  to 
the  zenith.  There  was  also  a  lunar  rainbow.  The 
common  people  were  greatly  alarmed,  for  there  had 
been  a  prediction  that  the  world  was  coming  to  an 
end,  and  they  thought  the  bright  part  of  the  Aurora 
was  a  piece  of  the  moon  that  had  already  tumbled 
down !  This  Aurora  was  seen  in  Turkey  and  in 
Egypt. 

*  *  *  »  * 

I  am  deeply  grieved  and  shaken  by  the  death  of 


HerscheVs  Death.  361 

Sir  John  Herschel,  who,  though  ten  years  younger 
than  I  am,  has  gone  before  me.  In  him  I  have  lost 
a  dear  and  affectionate  friend,  whose  advice  was  in- 
valuable, and  his  society  a  charm.  None  but  those 
who  have  lived  in  his  home  can  imagine  the  bright- 
ness and  happiness  of  his  domestic  life.  He  never 
presumed  upon  that  superiority  of  intellect  or  the 
great  discoveries  which  made  him  one  of  the  most 
illustrious  men  of  the  age  ;  but  conversed  cheerfully 
and  even  playfully  on  any  subject,  though  ever 
ready  to  give  information  on  any  of  the  various 
branches  of  science  to  which  he  so  largely  contri- 
buted, and  which  to  him  were  a  source  of  constant 
happiness.  Few  of  my  early  friends  now  remain — I 
am  nearly  left  alone. 

***** 
We  went  to  pass  the  summer  and  autumn 
at  Sorrento,  where  we  led  a  very  quiet  but 
happy  life.  The  villa  we  lived  in  was  at  a  short 
distance  from  and  above  the  town,  quite  buried  in 
groves  of  oranges  and  lemons,  beyond  which  lay  the 
sea,  generally  calm  and  blue,  sometimes  stormy ;  to 
our  left  the  islands  of  Ischia  and  Procida,  the  Capo 
Miseno,  with  Baia,  Pozzuoli,  and  Posilipo  ;  exactly 
opposite  to  us,  Naples,  then  Vesuvius,  and  all  the 
little  towns  on  that  coast,  and  lastly,  to  our  right, 
this  wonderful  panorama  was  bounded  by  the  fine 


362  Mary  Somerville. 

cliffs  of  the  Monte  Saritangelo.  It  was  beautiful 
always,  but  most  beautiful  when  the  sun,  setting  be- 
hind Ischia,  sent  a  perfect  glory  over  the  rippling 
sea,  and  tinged  the  Monte  Santangelo  and  the  cliffs 
which  bound  the  Piano  di  Sorrento  literally  with 
purple  and  gold.  I  spent  the  whole  day  on  a 
charming  terrace  sheltered  from  the  sun,  and  there 
we  dined  and  passed  the  evening  watching  the  lights 
of  Naples  reflected  in  the  water  and  the  revolving 
lights  of  the  different  lighthouses.  I  often  drove  to 
Massa  till  after  sunset,  for  from  that  road  I  could  see 
the  island  of  Capri,  and  I  scarcely  know  a  more 
lovely  drive.  Besides  the  books  we  took  with  us  we 
had  newspapers,  reviews,  and  other  periodicals,  so 
that  we  were  never  dull.  On  one  occasion  my 
daughters  and  I  made  an  expedition  up  the  hills  to 
the  Deserto,  from  whence  one  can  see  the  Gulf  of 
Salerno  and  the  fine  mountains  of  Calabria.  My 
daughters  rode  and  I  was-  carried  in  a  portantina. 
It  was  fine,  clear,  autumnal  weather,  and  I  enjoyed 
my  expedition  immensely,  nor  was  I  fatigued. 


In  November  we  returned  to  Naples,  where  I 
resumed  my  usual  life.  I  had  received  a  copy  of 
Hamilton's  Lectures  on  Quaternions  from  the  Eev. 
"Whitewell  Elwin.  I  am  not  acquainted  with  that 


Law  to  Protect  Animals.  363 

gentleman,  and  am  the  more  grateful  to  him.  I  have 
now  a  valuable  library  of  scientific  books  and  trans- 
actions of  scientific  societies,  the  greater  part  gifts 
from  the  authors. 

Foreigners  were  so  much  shocked  at  the  atrocious 
cruelty  to  animals  in  Italy,  that  an  attempt  was 
made  about  eight  years  ago  to  induce  the  Italian 
Parliament  to  pass  a  law  for  their  protection,  but  it 
failed.  As  Italy  is  the  only  civilized  country  in 
Europe  in  which  animals  are  not  protected  by  law, 
another  attempt  is  now  being  made  ;  I  have  willingly 
given  my  name,  and  I  received  a  kind  letter  from 
the  Marchioness  of  Ely,  from  Eome,  to  whom  I 
had  spoken  upon  the  subject  at  Naples,  telling 
me  that  the  Princess  Margaret,  Crown  Princess 
of  Italy,  had  been  induced  to  head  the  petition. 
Unless  the  educated  classes  take  up  the  cause  one 
cannot  hope  for  much  change  for  a  long  time.  Our 
friend,  Mr.  Eobert  Hay,  who  resided  at  Rome  for 
many  years,  had  an  old  horse  of  which  he  was  very 
fond,  and  on  leaving  Eome  asked  a  Roman  prince, 
who  had  very  large  possessions  in  the  Campagna,  if 
he  would  allow  his  old  horse  to  end  his  days  on  his 
grassy  meadows.  "  Certainly/'  replied  the  prince, 
"  but  how  can  you  care  what  becomes  of  an  animal 
when  he  is  no  longer  of  use  ?"  We  English  cannot 
boast  of  humanity,  however,  as  long  as  our  sportsmen 


364  Mary  Somerville. 

find  pleasure  in  shooting  down  tame  pigeons  as  they 
fly  terrified  out  of  a  cage. 


I  am  now  in  my  92nd  year  (1872),  still  able  to 
drive  out  for  several  hours ;  I  am  extremely  deaf, 
and  my  memory  of  ordinary  events,  and  especially 
of  the  names  of  people,  is  failing,  but  not  for  mathe- 
matical and  scientific  subjects.  I  am  still  able  to 
read  books  on  the  higher  algebra  for  four  or  five 
hours  in  tne  morning,  and  even  to  solve  the  pro- 
blems. Sometimes  I  find  them  difficult,  but  my  old 
obstinacy  remains,  for  if  I  do  not  succeed  to-day,  I 
attack  them  again  on  the  morrow.  I  also  enjoy 
reading  about  all  the  new  discoveries  and  theories  in 
the  scientific  world,  and  on  all  branches  of  science. 

Sir  Roderick  Murchison  has  passed  away,  honoured 
by  all,  and  of  undying  fame  ;  and  my  amiable  friend, 
almost  my  contemporary,  Professor  Sedgwick,  has 
been  obliged  to  resign  his  chair  of  geology  at  Cam- 
bridge, from  age,  which  he  had  filled  with  honour 
during  a  long  life. 


[The  following  letter  from  her  valued  friend  Professor 
Sedgwick,  in  1869,  is  the  last  my  mother  received  from 
him:— 


Professor  Sedgwick.  865 

FEOM  PEOFESSOE   SEDGWICK  TO   MES.  SOMEEVILLE. 

CAMBEIDGE,  April  21st,  1869. 

MY  DEAR   MRS.    SOMERVTLLE, 

I  heard,  when  I  was  in  London,  that  you  were 
still  in  good  bodily  health,  and  in  full  fruition  of  your 
great  intellectual  strength,  while  breathing  the  sweet  air 
of  Naples.  I  had  been  a  close  prisoner  to  my  college 
rooms  through  the  past  winter  and  spring ;  but  I  broke 
from  my  prison-house  at  the  beginning  of  this  month, 
that  I  might  consult  my  oculist,  and  meet  my  niece  on 

her  way  to    Italy My  niece   has  for  many 

years  (ever  since  1840)  been  my  loving  companion 
during  my  annual  turn  of  residence  as  canon  of  Nor- 
wich ;  and  she  is,  and  from  her  childhood  has,  been  to 
me  as  a  dear  daughter.  I  know  you  will  forgive  me  for 
my  anxiety  to  hear  from  a  living  witness  that  you  are 
well  and  happy  in  the  closing  days  of  your  honoured  life ; 
and  for  my  longing  desire  that  my  beloved  daughter  (for 
such  I  ever  regard  her)  should  speak  to  you  face  to  face, 
and  see  (for  however  short  an  interview)  the  Mrs.  Somer- 
ville,  of  whom  I  have  so  often  talked  with  her  in  terms 
of  honest  admiration  and  deep  regard.  The  time  for 
the  Italian  tour  is,  alas !  far  too  short.  But  it  will  be  a 
great  gain  to  each  of  the  party  to  be  allowed,  even  for  a 
short  time,  to  gaze  upon  the  earthly  paradise  that  is 
round  about  you,  and  to  cast  one  look  over  its  natural 

wonders  and  historic  monuments Since  you 

were  here,  my  dear  and  honoured  guest,  Cambridge  is 
greatly  changed.  I  am  left  here  like  a  vessel  on  its  beam 
ends,  to  mark  the  distance  to  which  the  current  has 
been  drifting  during  a  good  many  bygone  years.  I  have 


366  Mary  Someiville. 

outlived  nearly  all  my  early  friends.  Whewell,  Master  of 
Trinity,  was  the  last  of  the  old  stock  who  was  living  here. 
Herschel  has  not  been  here  for  several  years.  Babbage 
was  here  for  a  day  or  two  during  the  year  before  last. 
The  Astronomer-Royal  belongs  to  a  more  recent 
generation.  For  many  years  long  attacks  of  suppressed 
gout  have  made  my  life  very  unproductive.  I  yesterday 
dined  in  Hall.  It  was  the  first  time  I  was  able  to  meet 
my  brother  Fellows  since  last  Christmas  day.  A  long 
attack  of  bronchitis,  followed  by  a  distressing  inflamma- 
tion of  my  ej'es,  had  made  me  a  close  prisoner  for  nearly 
four  months.  But,  thank  God,  I  am  again  beginning  to  be 
cheery,  and  with  many  infirmities  (the  inevitable  results 
of  old  age,  for  I  have  entered  on  my  85th  year)  I  am  still 
strong  in  general  health,  and  capable  of  enjoying,  I  think 
as  much  as  ever,  the  society  of  those  whom  I  love,  be 
they  young  or  old.  May  God  preserve  and  bless  you  ; 
and  whensoever  it  may  be  His  will  to  call  you  away  to 
Himself,  may  your  mind  be  without  a  cloud  and  your 
heart  full  of  jo}rful  Christian  hope  ! 
I  remain, 

My  dear  Friend, 
Faithfully  and  gratefully  yours, 

ADAM  SEDGWICK. 


After  all  the  violence  and  bloodshed  of  the 
preceding  year,  the  Thanksgiving  of  Queen  Victoria 
and  the  British  nation  for  the  recovery  of  the  Prince 
of  Wales  will  form  a  striking  event  in  European 
history.  For  it  was  not  the  congregation  in  St. 


Vesuvius.  367 

Paul's  alone,  it  was  the  spontaneous  gratitude  of  all 
ranks  and  all  faiths  throughout  the  three  kingdoms 
that  were  offered  up  to  God  that  morning;  the 
people  sympathized  with  their  Queen,  and  no 
sovereign  more  deserves  sympathy. 

***** 
Vesuvius  has  exhibited  a  considerable  activity 
during  the  winter  and  early  spring,  and  frequent 
streams  of  lava  flowed  from  the  crater,  and  especially 
from  the  small  cone  to  the  north,  a  little  way  below 
the  principal  crater.  But  these  streams  were  small 
and  intermittent,  and  no  great  outbreak  was  ex- 
pected. On  the  24th  April  a  stream  of  lava  induced 
us  to  drive  in  the  evening  to  Santa  Lucia.  The 
next  night,  Thursday,  25th  April,  my  daughter 
Martha,  who  had  been  to  the  theatre,  wakened  me 
that  I  might  see  Vesuvius  in  splendid  eruption.  This 
was  at  about  1  o'clock  on  Friday  morning.  Early 
in  the  morning  I  was  disturbed  by  what  I  thought 
loud  thunder,  and  when  my  maid  came  at  7  a.m.  I 
remarked  that  there  was  a  thunder  storm,  but  she 
said,  "  No,  no  ;  it  is  the  mountain  roaring."  It  must 
have  been  very  loud  for  me  to  hear,  considering  my 
deafness,  and  the  distance  Vesuvius  is  from  Naples, 
yet  it  was  nothing  compared  to  the  noise  later  in 
the  day,  and  for  many  days  after.  My  daughter, 
who  had  gone  to  Santa  Lucia  to  see  the  eruption 


368  Mary  Somerville. 

better,  soon  came  to  fetch  me  with  our  friend  Mr. 
James  Swinton,  and  we  passed  the  whole  day  at 
windows  in  an  hotel  at  Santa  Lucia,  immediately 
opposite  the  mountain.  Vesuvius  was  now  in  the 
fiercest  eruption,  such  as  has  not  occurred  in  the 
memory  of  this  generation,  lava  overflowing  the 
principal  crater  and  running  in  all  directions.  The 
fiery  glow  of  lava  is  not  very  visible  by  daylight ; 
smoke  and  steam  is  sent  off  which  rises  white  as 
snow,  or  rather  as  frosted  silver,  and  the  mouth  of 
the  great  crater  was  white  with  the  lava  pouring 
over  it.  New  craters  had  burst  out  the  preceding 
night,  at  the  very  time  I  was  admiring  the  beauty 
of  the  eruption,  little  dreaming  that,  of  many  people 
who  had  gone  up  that  night  to  the  Atrio  del  Cavallo 
to  see  the  lava  (as  my  daughters  had  done  repeatedly 
and  especially  during  the  great  eruption  of  1868), 
some  forty  or  fifty  had  been  on  the  very  spot  where 
the  new  crater  burst  out,  and  perished,  scorched  to 
death  by  the  fiery  vapours  which  eddied  from  the 
fearful  chasm.  Some  were  rescued  who  had  been 
less  near  to  the  chasm,  but  of  these  none  eventually 
recovered. 

Behind  the  cone  rose  an  immense  column  of  dense 
black  smoke  to  more  than  four  times  the  height  of 
the  mountain,  and  spread  out  at  the  summit  hori- 
zontally, like  a  pine  tree,  above  the  silvery  stream 


Great  Eruption.  369 

which  poured  forth  in  volumes.  There  were  constant 
bursts  of  fiery  projectiles,  shooting  to  an  immense 
height  into  the  black  column  of  smoke,  and  tinging 
it  with  a  lurid  red  colour.  The  fearful  roaring  and 
thundering  never  ceased  for  one  moment,  and  the 
house  shook  with  the  concussion  of  the  air.  One 
stream  of  lava  flowed  towards  Torre  del  Greco,  but 
luckily  stopped  before  it  reached  the  cultivated  fields ; 
others,  and  the  most  dangerous  ones,  since  some  of 
them  came  from  the  new  craters,  poured  down  the 
Atrio  del  Cavallo,  and  dividing  before  reaching  the 
Observatory  flowed  to  the  right  and  to  the  left — the 
stream  which  flowed  to  the  north  very  soon  reached 
the  plain,  and  before  night  came  on  had  partially 
destroyed  the  small  town  of  Massa  di  Somma.  One 
of  the  peculiarities  of  this  eruption  was  the  great 
fluidity  of  the  lava  ;  another  was  the  never-ceasing 
thundering  of  the  mountain.  During  that  day  we  ob- 
served several  violent  explosions  in  the  great  stream 
of  lava  :  we  thought  from  the  enormous  volumes  of 
black  smoke  emitted  on  these  occasions  that  new 
craters  had  burst  out — some  below  the  level  of  the 
Observatory ;  but  that  can  hardly  have  been  the 
case.  My  daughters  at  night  .drove  to  Portici, 
and  went  up  to  the  top  of  a  house,  where  the  noise 
seems  to  have  been  appalling  ;  but  they  told  me  they 
did  not  gain  anything  by  going  to  Portici,  nor 


B  B 


870  Mary  Somerville. 

did  they  see  the  eruption  better  than  I  did  who 
remained  at  Santa  Lucia,  for  you  get  too  much  be- 
low the  mountain  on  going  near.  On  Sunday,  28th, 
I  was  surprised  at  the  extreme  darkness,  and  on 
looking  out  of  window  saw  men  walking  with 
umbrellas  ;  Vesuvius  was  emitting  such  an  enormous 
quantity  of  ashes,  or  rather  fine  black  sand,  that 
neither  land,  sea,  nor  sky  was  visible  ;  the  fall  was 
a  little  less  dense  during  the  day,  but  at  night 
it  was  worse  than  ever.  Strangers  seemed  to  be 
more  alarmed  at  this  than  at  the  eruption,  and 
certainly  the  constant  loud  roaring  of  Vesuvius 
was  appalling  enough  amidst  the  darkness  and 
gloom  of  the  falling  ashes.  The  railroad  was 
crowded  with  both  natives  and  foreigners,  escaping  ; 
on  the  other  hand,  crowds  came  from  Rome  to  see 
the  eruption.  We  were  not  at  all  afraid,  for  we  con- 
sidered that  the  danger  was  past  when  so  great  an 
eruption  had  acted  as  a  kind  of  safety-valve  to  the 
pent-up  vapours.  But  a  silly  report  got  about 
that  an  earthquake  was  to  take  place,  and  many 
persons  passed  the  night  in  driving  or  walking 
about  the  town,  avoiding  narrow  streets.  The 
mountain  was  quite  veiled  for  some  days  by  vapour 
and  ashes,  but  I  could  see  the  black  smoke  and 
silvery  mass  above  it.  While  looking  at  this,  a 
magnificent  column,  black  as  jet,  darted  with  incon- 


Effects  of  the  Eruption.  371 

ceivable  violence  and  velocity  to  an  immense  height ; 
it  gave  a  grand  idea  of  the  power  that  was  still  in 
action  in  the  fiery  caverns  below. 

Immense  injury  has  been  done  by  this  eruption, 
and  much  more  would  have  been  done  had  not  the 
lava  flowed  to  a  great  extent  over  that  of  1868. 
Still  the  streams  ran  through  Massa  di  Somma,  San 
Sebastiano,  and  other  villages  scattered  about  the 
country,  overwhelming  fields,  woods,  vineyards,  and 
houses.  The  ashes,  too,  have  not  only  destroyed 
this  year's  crops,  but  killed  both  vines  and  fruit 
trees,  so  that  altogether  it  has  been  most  disastrous. 
Vesuvius  was  involved  in  vapour  and  ashes  till  far 
on  in  May,  and  one  afternoon  at  sunset,  when  all 
below  was  in  shade,  and  only  a  few  silvery  threads  of 
steam  were  visible,  a  column  of  the  most  beautiful 
crimson  colour  rose  from  the  crater,  and  floated  in 
the  air.  Many  of  the  small  craters  still  smoked, 
one  quite  at  the  base  of  the  cone,  which  is  a  good 
deal  changed — it  is  lower,  the  small  northern  cone 
has  disappeared,  and  part  of  the  walls  of  the  crater 
have  fallen  in,  and  there  is  a  fissure  in  them  through 
which  smoke  or  vapour  is  occasionally  emitted. 

-:;*  *  *  *  * 

On  the  1st  June  we  returned  to  Sorrento,  this 
time  to  a  pretty  and  cheerful  apartment  close  to  the 
sea,  where  I  led  very  much  the  same  pleasant  life  as 


372  Mary   Somerville. 

the  year  before — busy  in  the  morning  with  my  own 
studies,  and  passing  the  rest  of  the  day  on  the 
terrace  with  my  daughters,  who  brought  me  beauti- 
ful wild  flowers  from  their  excursions  over  the 
country.  Many  of  the  flowers  they  brought  were 
new  to  me,  and  it  is  a  curious  fact  that  some  plants 
which  did  not  grow  in  this  part  of  the  country  a 
few  years  ago  are  now  quite  common.  Amongst 
others,  the  Trachelium  coeruleum,  a  pretty  wall-plant, 
native  of  Calabria,  and  formerly  unknown  here, 
now  clothes  many  an  old  wall  near  Naples,  and  at 
Sorrento.  The  ferns  are  extremely  beautiful  here. 
Besides  those  common  to  England,  the  Pteris  cretica 
grows  luxuriantly  in  the  damp  ravines,  as  well  as 
that  most  beautiful  of  European  ferns,  the  Wood- 
wardia  radicans,  whose  fronds  are  often  more  than 
six  feet  long.  The  inhabitants  of  Sorrento  are  very 
superior  to  the  Neapolitans,  both  in  looks  and 
character ;  they  are  cleanly,  honest,  less  cruel  to 
animals,  and  have  pleasant  manners — neither  too 
familiar  nor  cringing.  As  the  road  between  Sor- 
rento and  Castellamare  was  impassable,  owing  to 
the  fall  of  immense  masses  of  rock  from  the  cliffs 
above  it,  we  crossed  over  in  the  steamer  with 
our  servants  arid  our  pet  birds,  for  I  now  have 
a  beautiful  long-tailed  parroquet  called  Smeraldo, 
who  is  my  constant  companion  and  is  very  familiar 

* 


Protection  of  Birds.  373 

And  here  I  must  mention  how  much  I  was  pleased 
to  hear  that  Mr.  Herbert,  M.P.,  has  brought  in  a 
bill  to  protect  land  birds,  which  has  been  passed  in 
Parliament ;  but  I  am  grieved  to  find  that  "  The 
lark  which  at  Heaven's  gate  sings  "  is  thought  un- 
worthy of  man's  protection.  Among  the  numerous 
plans  for  the  education  of  the  young,  let  us  hope 
that  mercy  may  be  taught  as  a  part  of  religion. 
***** 

Though  far  advanced  in  years,  I  take  as  lively  an 
interest  as  ever  in  passing  events.  I  regret  that  I 
shall  not  live  to  know  the  result  of  the  expedition  to 
determine  the  currents  of  the  ocean,  the  distance  of 
the  earth  from  the  sun  determined  by  the  transits  of 
Venus,  and  the  source  of  the  most  renowned  of 
rivers,  the  discovery  of  which  will  immortalise  the 
name  of  Dr.  Livingstone.  But  I  regret  most  of  all 
that  I  shall  not  see  the  suppression  of  the  most 
atrocious  system  of  slavery  that  ever  disgraced 
humanity — that  made  known  to  the  world  by  Dr. 
Livingstone  and  by  Mr.  Stanley,  and  which  Sir 
Bartle  Frere  has  gone  to  suppress  by  order  of  the 
British  Government. 

*  *  *  *       -        * 

The  Blue  Peter  has  been  long  flying  at  my  fore- 
mast, and  now  that  I  am  in  my  ninety-second  year 
I  must  soon  expect  the  signal  for  sailing.  It  is  a 


371  Mary  Somerville. 

solemn  voyage,  but  it  does  not  disturb  my  tran- 
quillity. Deeply  sensible  of  my  utter  unworthiness, 
and  profoundly  grateful  for  the  innumerable  bless- 
ings I  have  received,  I  trust  in  the  infinite  mercy  of 
my  Almighty  Creator.  I  have  every  reason  to  be 
thankful  that  my  intellect  is  still  unimpaired,  and, 
although  my  strength  is  weakness,  my  daughters 
support  my  tottering  steps,  and,  by  incessant  care 
and  help,  make  the  infirmities  of  age  so  light  to  me 
that  I  am  perfectly  happy. 


I  HAVE  very  little  more  to  add  to  these  last  words  of 
my  Mother's  Kecollections.  The  preceding  pages  will 
have  given  the  reader  some  idea — albeit  perhaps  a  very 
imperfect  one — of  her  character  and  opinions.  Only 
regarding  her  feelings  on  the  most  sacred  of  themes,  is  it 
needful  for  me  to  say  a  few  words.  My  mother  was  pro- 
foundly and  sincerely  religious ;  hers  was  not  a  religion 
of  mere  forms  and  doctrines,  but  a  solemn  deep-rooted 
faith  which  influenced  every  thought,  and  regulated  every 
action  of  her  life.  Great  love  and  reverence  towards  God 
was  the  foundation  of  this  pure  faith,  which  accompanied 
her  from  you^h  to  extreme  old  age,  indeed  to  her  last 
moments,  which  gave  her  strength  to  endure  many  sor- 
rows, and  was  the  mainspring  of  that  extreme  humility 
which  was  so  remarkable  a  feature  of  her  character. 

At  a  very  early  age  she  dared  to  think  for  herself,  fear- 


Religious  Feelings.  375 

lessly  shaking  off  those  doctrines  of  her  early  creed  which 
seemed  to  her  incompatible  with  the  unutterable  goodness 
and  greatness  of  God ;  and  through  life  she  adhered  to 
her  simple  faith,  holding  quietly  and  resolutely  to  the 
ultimate  truths  of  religion,  regardless  alike  of  the  censure 
of  bigots  or  the  smiles  of  sceptics.  The  theories  of 
modern  science  she  welcomed  as  quite  in  accordance 
with  her  religious  opinions.  She  rejected  the  notion 
of  occasional  interference  by  the  Creator  with  His 
work,  and  believed  that  from  the  first  and  invariably 
He  has  acted  according  to  a  system  of  harmonious  laws, 
some  of  which  we  are  beginning  faintly  to  recognise, 
others  of  which  will  be  discovered  in  course  of  time,  while 
many  must  remain  a  mystery  to  man  while  he  inhabits  this 
world.  It  was  in  her  early  life  that  the  controversy 
raged  respecting  the  incompatibility  of  the  Mosaic  ac- 
count of  Creation,  the  Deluge,  &c.,  with  the  revelations 
of  geology.  My  mother  very  soon  accepted  the  modern 
theories,  seeing  in  them  nothing  in  any  way  hostile  to 
true  religious  belief.  It  is  singular  to  recall  that  her 
candid  avowal  of  views  now  so  common,  caused  her 
to  be  publicly  censured  by  name  from  the  pulpit  of 
York  Cathedral.  She  foresaw  the  great  modifications 
in  opinion  which  further  discoveries  will  inevitably 
produce ;  but  she  foresaw  them  without  doubt  or  fear. 
Her  constant  prayer  was  for  light  and  truth,  and 
its  full  accomplishment  she  looked  for  confidently  in 
the  life  beyond  the  grave.  My  mother  never  discussed 
religious  subjects  in  general  society;  she  considered  them 
far  too  solemn  to  be  talked  of  lightly;  but  with  those 
near  and  dear  to  her,  and  with  very  intimate  friends, 
whose  opinion  agreed  with  her  own,  she  spoke  freely 
and  willingly.  Her  mind  was  constantly  occupied  with 


376  Mary  Somerville. 

thoughts  on  religion ;  and  in  her  last  years  especially  she 
reflected  much  on  that  future  world  which  she  expected 
soon  to  enter,  and  lifted  her  heart  still  more  frequently 
to  that  good  Father  whom  she  had  loved  so  fervently 
all  her  life,  and  in  whose  merciful  care  she  fearlessly 
trusted  in  her  last  hour. 

My  mother's  old  age  was  a  thoroughly  happy  one.  She 
often  said  that  not  even  in  the  joyous  spring  of  life  had 
she  been  more  truly  happy.  Serene  and  cheerful,  full 
of  life  and  activity,  as  far  as  her  physical  strength 
permitted,  she  had  none  of  the  infirmities  of  age,  except 
difficulty  in  hearing,  which  prevented  her  from  joining 
in  general  conversation.  She  had  always  been  near- 
sighted, but  could  read  small  print  with  the  greatest 
ease  without  glasses,  even  by  lamp-light.  To  the  last  her 
intellect  remained  perfectly  unclouded ;  her  affection  for 
those  she  loved,  and  her  sympathy  for  all  living  beings, 
as  fervent  as  ever ;  nor  did  her  ardent  desire  for  and 
belief  in  the  ultimate  religious  and  moral  improvement 
of  mankind  diminish.  She  always  retained  her  habit  of 
study,  and  that  pursuit,  in  which  she  had  attained  such  ex- 
cellence and  which  was  always  the  most  congenial  to  her, 
— Mathematics — delighted  and  amused  her  to  the  end. 
Her  last  occupations,  continued  to  the  actual  day  of  her 
death,  were  the  revision  and  completion  of  a  treatise, 
which  she  had  written  years  before,  on  the  "  Theory 
of  Differences  "  (with  diagrams  exquisitely  drawn),  and 
the  study  of  a  book  on  Quaternions.  Though  too 
religious  to  fear  death,  she  dreaded  outliving  her  intel- 
lectual powers,  and  it  was  with  intense  delight  that  she 
pursued  her  intricate  calculations  after  her  ninetieth 
and  ninety-first  years,  and  repeatedly  told  me  how  she 
rejoiced  to  find  that  she  had  the  same  readiness  and 


Her  Death.  377 

facility  in  comprehending  and  developing  these  ex- 
tremely difficult  formulae  which  she  possessed  when  young. 
Often,  also,  she  said  how  grateful  she  was  to  the 
Almighty  Father  who  had  allowed  her  to  retain  her 
faculties  unimpaired  to  so  great  an  age.  God  was  indeed 
loving  and  merciful  to  her ;  not  only  did  He  spare  her 
this  calamity,  but  also  the  weary  trial  of  long-continued 
illness.  In  health  of  body  and  vigour  of  mind,  having 
lived  far  beyond  the  usual  span  of  human  life,  He  called 
her  to  Himself.  For  her  Death  lost  all  its  terrors.  Her 
pure  spirit  passed  away  so  gently  that  those  around  her 
scarcely  perceived  when  she  left  them.  It  was  the  beauti- 
ful and  painless  close  of  a  noble  and  a  happy  life. 

My  mother  died  in  sleep  on  the  morning  of  the  29th 
Nov.,  1872.  Her  remains  rest  in  the  English  Campo 
Santo  of  Naples. 


THE    END. 


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